1001MC PhD and postdoc positions at the AIP
Dear colleagues,
Apologies if you receive this notice via multiple channels!
I’m currently hiring two positions - one postdoc and one PhD - to work in my new Leibniz Junior Research Group at the AIP starting next year. Both positions will focus on analysis of 4MOST data from the 1001MC survey to study the evolution of the Magellanic Clouds.
More information can be found at the end of the email, with pertinent links to the AAS job register below. Both have deadlines of Thursday December 6, 2025. Postdoc: https://aas.org/jobregister/ad/7f0bde8e PhD: https://aas.org/jobregister/ad/53198dde
I’d greatly appreciate if you could forward this announcement to potentially interested candidates.
Thanks very much,
Lara Cullinane
Applications are invited for one postdoctoral and one PhD position in dwarf galaxies/stellar populations based at the AIP, where scientists work on a variety of astrophysical topics from solar physics to cosmology. The AIP is located in beautiful Potsdam/Babelsberg, not far from Berlin, and has around 200 employees.
The positions are within the new Leibniz Junior Research Group led by Dr Lara Cullinane, and are part of the project “Chronicling the Clouds: Chemodynamics of the most massive dwarf galaxies”. The successful applicants will be embedded in the lively Dwarf galaxies and Galactic halo research section. Start dates are negotiable, but expected to be between July-November 2026. Applications received by Dec. 6 2025 will receive full consideration.
Potsdoc: The successful applicant will work with Dr. Cullinane and a PhD student in the group, and collaborate with other researchers at the AIP. The position will focus on chemical tagging in the Magellanic Clouds, building up a detailed picture of their star formation history and chemical evolution. Analysis will primarily focus on a comprehensive set of high-resolution stellar spectra from a new survey of the Magellanic Clouds with the 4MOST facility. The successful applicant will assess the origin of stars (as either formed in-situ, or accreted), characterising the Clouds’ earliest chemical evolution and how this has subsequently been impacted by both secular processes and dynamical interactions. While the overall research goal of the position is defined as described, there will be sufficient flexibility for the successful applicants to incorporate their own scientific ideas. We encourage applications from scientists with experience in spectroscopy, particular at high resolution. The initial appointment will be made for two years, with possible extensions up to a total of five years dependent on performance.
PhD student: The project is focussed on the stellar halo of the Large Magellanic Cloud, and involves isolating halo stars and chemodynamically characterising their properties. The successful applicant will assess the importance of different formation channels to the halo, and how dynamical events have played a role in the evolution of the galaxy. Analysis will primarily focus on a comprehensive set of stellar spectra from a new survey of the Magellanic Clouds with the 4MOST facility. We encourage applications from scientists with background knowledge or experience in spectroscopy.
