Euclid postdoctoral positions: Euclid Mission External Data and Strong Lensing (2.0 FTE)

The astronomical departments of the University of Groningen and Leiden University invite applications for two postdoctoral research positions. The postdoctoral researchers will be members of the Euclid Consortium and are both based at the Kapteyn Astronomical Institute in Groningen. Both positions are fixed-term for two years initially, with one or two-year extensions depending on performance and funding.

One position (max. four years) allows 50% fully independent research and requires 50% support tasks. The latter consists of leading the scientific data-quality assessment of Euclid-internal data products derived from ground-based wide-field imaging surveys. These form a crucial part of the Euclid Mission for providing very accurate photometric redshifts. The independent research can be done in collaboration with the Euclid science team members in Groningen and Leiden under the supervision of Prof. Léon Koopmans (UG), Dr Gijs Verdoes Kleijn (UG) and Prof. Konrad Kuijken (UL). The quality assessment is performed with the Euclid Organisational Unit “External Data” members, co-led by Dr Gijs Verdoes Kleijn at the University of Groningen.

The second position (max. three years) is related to studying dark matter and galaxy formation, using strong gravitational lensing, possibly in combination with galaxy-scale weak lensing, under the supervision of Prof. Léon Koopmans (UG) and Prof. Henk Hoekstra (UL). The postdoc will join the Euclid Strong Lensing and Weak Lensing Science Working Groups.

Organisation
The Kapteyn Astronomical Institute and Leiden Observatory are the universities’ departments for research and education in astronomy, astrophysics, astronomical instrumentation, and informatics. Both are part of the Netherlands Research School for Astronomy (NOVA), which executes nationally coherent scientific exploitation of the Euclid Mission data. The Euclid Mission is the European Space Agency's next cosmology flagship mission. It will be launched in July 2023 and will study the dark universe and cosmology. The University of Groningen hosts the Netherlands Euclid Science Data Center (Euclid SDC) and the NOVA-Kapteyn-OmegaCEN expertise centre for astronomical data science systems. The Euclid Organisational Unit “External Data” (OU-EXT) is an international team co-led by Gijs Verdoes Kleijn. Besides Groningen, it includes team members at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics and the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, the Astroparticle and Cosmology Laboratory in Paris and Oulu University in Finland.

We are looking for the following qualifications and experience:

• a PhD in astronomy (exceptionally another field but with proven astronomical survey experience*)
• interest in developing team leading / management skills*
• strong pros are:

o experience with astronomical image processing and software in the optical or near-infrared*

o astro data science tools (e.g, mastery of Python and/or C++, Jupyter Notebooks).

• pro-active and independent working attitude
• team player, communicative, experience with distributed software project teams is a plus*
• flexibility in dealing with different organisational cultures and structures
• prepared to travel several times per year to international partners
• good mastery of the English language and writing skills.

*In particular for the position that includes 50% support.

We offer you, in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities:

• a salary based on qualifications and experience starting at € 3,557 gross per month (salary scale 10)
• excellent secondary terms of employment
• a full-time position
• a holiday allowance of 8% gross annual income and an 8.3% end-of-year bonus
• 232 holiday hours per calendar year for full-time employment
• participation in a pension scheme for employees
• a personal budget of € 1,000 per year for additional training and career activities.

The postdocs will be based in Groningen but can pursue research with the Euclid science team in both Leiden and Groningen. The successful candidate will be offered a temporary position of two years. After a performance evaluation, this position may be extended for up to two more years, depending on the maximum duration of the position and available funding.

The starting date is as soon as possible, given the launch of the Euclid satellite in July 2023