Postdoctoral fellow with focus on studying the Milky Way as a galaxy using large surveys - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

We announce a position as postdoctoral fellow for two years at the Department of Astronomy and Theoretical Physics.

Introduction
The position is placed in a group that is led by Sofia Feltzing and researches stellar populations with focus on understanding how the Milky Way was formed.

Through a generous grant from the KAW foundation the department participates in 4MOST (www.4most.eu) and members of the group participates in WEAVE and SDSS-V. All massively multiplex spectroscopic surveys of the Milky Way.  Astronomers at Lund University participate actively in the work in ESAs astrometric Gaia satellite.

Within the position the employee is offered up to three weeks of pedagogical training. The employee is encouraged to participate in the career programs offered by the university to postdoctors. (https://www. staff.lu.se/employment/professional-and-careers-development/career-development-academic-staff/ career-development-postdocs).

Description of work
The employee will mainly do research. The main area of research will be Galactic Archeaology, the study of the Milky Way as a galaxy. The group is working extensively with results from large spectroscopic stellar surveys of the Milky Way stars. By using these data we build an understanding of how the Milky Way formed and evolved. During the coming five years we will focus our studies on the stars-formation history of the Milky Way and how that is influenced by the merger of the Milky Way with smaller galaxies. Essential for success in this work is the continued development of age determinations for individual stars as well as for stellar populations and how the so called selection function of the surveys influence the interpretation of the results.

The employee can join the 4MOST survey and, via collaborations, work on WEAVE and SDSS-V data. The employee may join one of the 4MOST infrastructure working group (max 30% of the time), preferably the one focusing on selection functions.

The employee is expected to promote the research results via publication of scientific papers, give talks at international conferences and via visiting other research institutes and give seminars. This will mean some travel. There is a budget available for this but the employee is also expected to apply for travel funds from external bodies, such as learned societies and research councils.

The employee is expected to contribute to the group´s daily scientific life and participate in meetings and similar with collaborators in Lund and elsewhere where we share our research results and have scientific discussions.

If the employee is interested it will be possible to participate in teaching at bachelor and/or master level up to 5% of the time. The employee will also have the possibility to offer exam projects for bachelor and master students.

Eligibility
Appointment to a post-doctoral position requires that the applicant has a PhD, or an international degree deemed equivalent to a PhD, within the subject of the position, completed primarily no more than three years before the last date for applications. The applicant does not need to hold a PhD degree when the application is sent in, but the degree must be awarded no later than the starting date of the position. Under special circumstances, the doctoral degree can have been completed earlier.

Assessment critera
Postdoctoral fellow positions are research-focused appointments intended to form early stages of a science career. The assessment of the applicants will primarily be based on their research qualifications and potential as researchers. Particular emphasis will be placed on research skills within the subject.

Qualifications

Requirements:

The employee shall have a PhD with a main focus on the study of the Milky Way, its stars and galaxy formation.

The employee should be specialized in theory/modelling or observations. The important thing is to be interested in the study of the formation of the Milky Way with help of large photometric and spectroscopic surveys.

Merits:

It is a merit to have experience of large spectroscopic surveys and their usage in the study of the Milky Way as a galaxy.

It is a merit to have worked with characterizing selection function of a survey or have use a selection function to interpret results from a survey.

It is a merit to have worked with comparative studies of simulations of galaxy formation and observations of the Milky Way.

It is a merit to have good knowledge of statistical methods and their application within the research field.

Knowledge of Python programming is a merit.

Terms of employment
This is a full-time, fixed-term employment of two years. The period of employment is determined in accordance with the agreement “Avtal om tidsbegränsad anställning som postdoktor” (“Agreement on fixed-term employment as a post-doctoral fellow”) between Lund University, SACO-S and OFR/S, dated February 1, 2022.

Other information
Interviews will be conducted via video or phone conference. The interviews will be done as soon as possible after the closing of the application.

Application procedure
The position is applied for via the recruitment system of the University. The application should include a personal letter with your motivation of why you are interested in the position and in which way the position matches your merits (up to 1.5 pages). The application should include a description of the research you wish to carry out within the position (up to 3 pages). Here it would be good to explain how the proposed research matched the advert, the research profile of the group and possible collaborations within the department.

A CV including a complete publication list should be attached to the application as well as a copy of the PhD degree diploma or documents supporting that a PhD degree will be obtained by the start of the employment. Names and contact information (email, phone, postal address and webpage) for up to three persons that have agreed to provide you with a reference upon request should be provided.