The Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) in Göttingen is one of the world's leading research institutions in the field of solar physics and planetary research with around 300 employees. The interdisciplinary research focus is the investigation of the development, diversity and dynamics of planets, moons, small bodies, the sun and solar-like stars.

The MPS develops and operates scientific instruments for current and future space missions (e.g. ESA, NASA), and carries out cosmochemical laboratory investigations of meteorites as well as numerical modeling on state-of-the-art supercomputers.

The Planet Formation group led by Dr. Joanna Drążkowska invites applications for a Postdoctoral Position (f/m/d) on Exoplanets Formation.

Your tasks

• Development of state-of-the-art models for planetesimal and planet formation around stars of different masses, metallicities, and formed in various stellar environments.
• Performing numerical simulations, analysis, results interpretation and benchmarking against available exoplanetary data
• Presentation of the results in journal papers and at national and international conferences.
• (Optional) Co-supervision of PhD students.

Your qualification

• PhD in astronomy, astrophysics, or related topic is required before the start of the position.
• Good command of English (min B2-Level).
• Computer literacy including familiarity with Linux/UNIX environment.
• Experience with High Performance Computing is considered as an advantage.
• Previous experience in planet formation modelling is considered as an advantage.

Additional information

• Remuneration is according to the German public salary scale TVöD-Bund E13.
• Social security benefits are in accordance with the public service regulations.
• Funding for publications and travels as well as access to computing resources are provided.

This position is offered within the project "Formation of planetary building blocks throughout time and space" funded by the ERC Starting Grant PLANETOIDS.

Starting time is flexible, preferably in the first half of 2025.

For formal reasons, the initial contract will be restricted until 31.08.2027 independently of the starting date. Extension is possible given satisfactory progress and funding availability.

We look forward to receiving your informative application documents (a cover letter, an academic CV including a publication list, a brief statement of research interests and plans [max. 3 pages], the names and contact details of at least two potential referees).

Please submit these via the digital application portal. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Dr. Joanna Drążkowska.

The Max Planck Society endeavours to achieve gender equality and diversity. Furthermore, the Max Planck Society seeks to increase the number of women in those areas where they are underrepresented and therefore explicitly encourages women to apply. The Max Planck Society is committed to increasing the number of individuals with disabilities in its workforce and therefore encourages applications from such qualified individuals.

Review of applications will start on 15 January 2025 and continue until the position is filled.

If you want your application to also be considered for the other postdoctoral position available in this group, please mention it in the cover letter.

Please apply via our application portal. We look forward to receiving your online application.

Further information about the group.