The Division of Space Research and Planetary Sciences is looking for a fully-funded PhD student at the University of Bern to work on transiting sub-Neptune planets. The student would work on transiting exoplanets as part of the SNSF-funded "Exo-Neptune Census” project led by Dr. Hugh Osborn, which aims to perform a demographic survey of the radii, masses and atmospheres of nearby sub-Neptunes to inform planetary formation and evolution. The PhD student's project will focus on detecting new planets in photometric timeseries from NASA's TESS telescope as well as potentially Roman and PLATO. The applicant would also be involved in ongoing observations with ESA's CHEOPS space telescope, for which Bern is the PI institute. An additional project goal in which the successful applicant could become involved is improving occurrence rates for transiting sub-Neptunes.
A small amount of undergraduate teaching will also be expected during term time.

The applicant should have a masters in an appropriate field, and excellent oral and written skills in English. The position will benefit from domain knowledge in observational exoplanetary astronomy (especially past observational experience and analysis of transiting planets), and technical experience in machine learning (esp CNNs), data analysis (esp using python), and Bayesian statistics. The applicant should demonstrate the ability to succeed in scientific projects, to effectively communicate scientific results, and to work well as part of a team.

Bern's physics institute hosts multiple groups studying both exoplanet (atmospheres, interiors, formation, direct imaging) and solar system (planetary imaging, remote sensing, etc) astronomy. The University of Bern is a top-200 global university (see e.g. the university guide) in a welcoming international city which is frequently found in the top-10 most livable cities worldwide.

Salary in accordance with the guidelines of the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). Gross annual salary starts at CHF 50k.

The PhD has an ideal start date of 1st Feb 2026 and is funded for 4 years. The University of Bern is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion, and we welcome candidates from diverse and minority groups and non-linear career paths. Applicants from all nationalities will be considered.

Applications require:

• CV (max 2 page)
• Cover letter
• Academic transcript for all degrees
• Names and email addresses for two academic referees

Please apply either via the UniBE job portal, or send your application (with all files as a single PDF document) to the following e-mail address: hugh.osborn@unibe.ch

The deadline for consideration is end-of-day on 30th November 2025.