Research Associate/Assistant in Supernovae / Astrostatistics / Data Science (Fixed Term)
The Institute of Astronomy (IoA), Cambridge University expects to appoint one or more postdoctoral researchers to work with Professor Kaisey Mandel on projects in supernova cosmology, transient astronomy, astrostatistics and/or machine learning. Prof Mandel's interdisciplinary research group is funded by the European Research Council and spans the Institute of Astronomy, Kavli Institute for Cosmology, and the Statistical Laboratory of the Department of Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics. Appointments to the StatsLab (DPMMS) are possible. Negotiable starting dates from ASAP through to October 2025.
Experience in statistical modelling / computation, machine learning, supernova observations / data analysis, transient surveys, and/or cosmological analysis is desirable. The successful applicants will have opportunities to work with novel optical / near-infrared datasets from current time-domain surveys, including the Young Supernova Experiment, and participate in upcoming next-generation surveys including LSST with VRO and TiDES with 4MOST.
The role-holder will contribute to research excellence as a member of a highly collaborative international research team, with the role providing substantial scope for exercising academic judgement, originality, interpretation and presentation of results. The role-holder will develop a high degree of interaction with staff and students, disseminate their research findings via publications or other appropriate media, such as international workshops and conferences, and will be encouraged to participate in teaching, learning, and outreach activities.
Applicants must have a PhD in Astronomy, Statistics, or a related field, or have satisfied the requirements for the PhD, by the time of appointment. Applicants must possess a scientific publication record and a clear outline of current and future research areas of interest. Applicants must have excellent communication and computing skills and are expected to produce scientific articles for publication in peer-reviewed journals
Salary will be on the Research Associate scale (grade 7, from £36,924 to £45,163). Appointment as a Research Associate (grade 7) is dependent on having a PhD. Those who have submitted their thesis but not yet been awarded their PhD will initially be appointed as a Research Assistant and amended to Research Associate when the PhD is awarded. The Research Assistant salary (grade 5) falls within the range £33,882 to £34,866.
Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for 3 years in the first instance.
The University of Cambridge thrives on the diversity of its staff and students. We have an active Equality and Diversity Committee which continually works to further the aims of the Athena SWAN charter. The University has several family-friendly policies and initiatives, including a returning-carer scheme, childcare costs support, university workplace nurseries, university holiday play-schemes, and a shared parental-leave policy. As part of its commitment to providing a family-friendly environment for researchers, the IoA ensures that should parental leave be needed during the course of employment, there is provision for extension to contract to compensate for the parental leave taken.
Conversations about flexible working are encouraged at the University of Cambridge. Please feel free to discuss flexibility prior to applying (using the contact information below) or at interview if your application is successful.
Click the 'Apply' button below to register an account with our recruitment system (if you have not already) and apply online.
Please upload your CV, cover letter, publications list and research statement (3xA4 pages max, 11pt font) in the Upload section. Names and contact details of 3 academic referees are essential. Please advise referees that references will be requested for 13th January 2025, such contact will be direct to your referees via our recruitment system.
The University of Cambridge is a signatory of the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA). DORA recognises the need to improve the ways in which the outputs of scholarly research are evaluated. The University expects candidates to apply the principles of DORA when preparing their applications. We do not use journal-level metrics when assessing the quality of research outputs. Applicants should not include journal-level metrics, such as the Journal Impact Factor, anywhere in their application materials. More information about DORA, its principles and aims can be found at: https://sfdora.org/ and https://www.research-strategy.admin.cam.ac.uk/research-policy/DORA.
Closing date: 23:59 GMT, Monday, 13th January 2025. Where applicable, referees will be requested to provide references by Monday 13th January 2025.
Applications will be reviewed after the closing date and short-listed candidates selected for interview.
Interviews are provisionally planned for w/c 20th January 2025.
Starting date: October 2025 or earlier.
Please quote reference LG44290 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.
If you have any queries about your application, please contact hr@ast.cam.ac.uk. Informal enquires may be addressed to Professor Kaisey Mandel (kmandel@ast.cam.ac.uk) .
The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.
The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.