Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellow - Carnegie Observatories

Description

We invite applications for the Carnegie Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in astrophysics at The Carnegie Science Observatories in Pasadena, California, to begin in fall 2026. The fellowship is intended to encourage long-term research in observational astrophysics or astronomical instrumentation. The principal selection criteria will be demonstrated depth and/or breadth of knowledge and research accomplishments, potential impact of the proposed research, use of Carnegie's scientific resources, and broader impact contributions to the candidate's local department and/or the wider astronomical community. Fellowships are awarded for two years and may be renewed for a third year.

Carnegie Science owns and operates the Las Campanas Observatory in Chile, which includes the twin 6.5-meter Magellan telescopes as well as the 1.0-meter Swope telescope.  Carnegie is also a full institutional member of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey V.  Based in Pasadena, between the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the California Institute of Technology, the Observatories provide an exceptional research environment and access to resources for theorists, observers, and instrumentalists alike. Scientific computing at Carnegie is supported by our 19% share in the Resnick HPC Center at Caltech in addition to local computing resources. Fellows will have access to dedicated computational facilities and Carnegie observing facilities on the same basis as the scientific staff.

Carnegie Science strives to enable a scientifically excellent, interactive, and welcoming community, and therefore aims for all people to collaborate and thrive at Carnegie. 

The fellowship offers an annual starting salary of $84,500 and a research budget of approximately $12,000 per year.

E-mail inquiries may be sent to Dr. Josh Simon at cfellow@obs.carnegiescience.edu.

Qualifications

The successful applicant must have completed their Ph.D. requirements before beginning the fellowship.

Application Instructions

The application should include a cover letter, curriculum vitae, list of publications, an essay describing the applicant's previous research and future research plans (up to 5 pages including references), and a 1 page broader impact statement articulating the applicant's past experiences in any of the following areas: mentoring, outreach, service work, and contributions to the culture of their department or the astronomical community. 

Research statements should be anonymized; specific expertise that the applicant has developed can be described, but references to published work should be written in the third person, with numbered citations, similar to guidelines available for observing proposals submitted to NASA, NOIRLab, and ESO.

We believe that tenacity and resilience are important qualities for successful scientists, so applicants whose path to astronomy has exhibited these characteristics and/or the ability to overcome obstacles are encouraged to describe relevant experiences in their cover letter or broader impact statement.

These materials along with the names of three references must be submitted via Interfolio by November 3, 2025. Reference letters are due by November 10, 2025. 

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

Carnegie Institution for Science has a long-standing commitment to equal employment opportunity for all employees and applicants for employment. All applicants will receive consideration of employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, genetic information, disability, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws.