Our Group

The newly established research group of Zoltan Haiman is looking for outstanding, highly motivated postdoctoral researchers with demonstrated research experience in any of the following topics: (i) gravitational wave astronomy with massive and stellar-mass black hole binaries, (ii) the formation and growth of massive black holes, or (iii) weak lensing cosmology.

Your Responsibilities

Prior experience with radiation hydrodynamical or MHD simulations or with time-domain data analysis (topics i and ii) and cosmological simulations or weak lensing inference (topic iii) is especially desirable. The initial appointments will be for one year, with renewal possible for up to four years. The successful candidates will conduct independent and collaborative research on the topics above, and will be encouraged to interact with other members in ISTA’s growing Astrophysics group (other faculty currently includes Professors Lisa Bugnet, Ilaria Caiazzo, Ylva Götberg and Jorryt Matthee). Successful candidates will have access to ISTA’s high-performance computational facilities and will be provided with travel and research funds. The expected start date is on or around September 1, 2026.

Your Profile

• PhD in Astronomy, Astrophysics or Physics within the last five years.
• Demonstrated excellence in research, with a track record of publications in one of the areas listed above
• Excellent command of English (working language)
• Excellent communication, interpersonal, organizational and time management skills

Application documents: Applicants should submit a cover letter (at most 1 page), CV, list of publications, and a research statement (at most 3 pages, including all figures and references), and arrange for three reference letters to be sent directly by the referees.

To submit your application: All application materials, as well as the references should be emailed directly to haiman-postdoc@ista.ac.at by November 10, 2025. Late applications may be considered until the position is filled. All files should be in PDF format, and named Lastname_Firstname_Cover.pdf , Lastname_Firstname_CV.pdf, Lastname_Firstname_Pubs.pdf and Lastname_Firstname_Research.pdf.