Job Offer from September 28, 2026
Job Summary
- Category: Post-doctoral Positions and Fellowships
- Institution: Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics
- Number of Positions Available: 1
- Duration: 4 Years
- Could the duration be extended?: No
- Work Arrangement: In-Person
- In-Person Location(s): Garching near Munich, Germany
Job Description
Postdoctoral position in lattice simulations of cosmic inflation with gauge fields
We are seeking to fill one postdoctoral position within the ERC Advanced Grant project NewPhysCMB (Finding New Physics from the Polarized Light of the Cosmic Microwave Background), which aims to establish cosmological parity violation as a new probe of the physics behind dark matter, dark energy, and cosmic inflation. Within this program, Work Package 3 (WP3) uses pioneering lattice simulations of scalar and gauge fields during inflation to study primordial parity violation, including chiral and non-Gaussian primordial gravitational waves and parity-violating non-Gaussian density fluctuations.
The position is funded by the ERC Advanced Grant 2025 program NewPhysCMB and the successful candidate will work closely with Prof. Dr. Eiichiro Komatsu, Director of the Department of Physical Cosmology at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics (MPA) and Dr. Drew Jamieson, a postdoctoral Fellow at the Perimeter Institute.
The intended research projects include, but are not limited to, the development, analysis, and interpretation of lattice simulations of cosmic inflation with gauge fields. Some of the addressed science topics include:
- Analysis of primordial density fluctuations sourced by the nonlinear dynamics of gauge fields during inflation, going beyond linear and semi-analytical treatments
- Extension of the team’s existing lattice inflation code from Abelian to non-Abelian (e.g. SU(2)) gauge fields
- Calculation of the statistical properties of chiral, non-Gaussian, and non-scale-invariant primordial gravitational waves from simulation outputs, and their signatures for CMB and direct gravitational-wave experiments
- Generation of “ab initio” simulated realizations of CMB and large-scale structure observables using lattice-simulation outputs as initial conditions
Within these areas, we seek to fill one postdoctoral position intended for a promising young scientist who completed their PhD within the last six years. The term of employment is four years. The nominal starting date is 1 September 2027, but earlier start dates are also possible if the selected candidate is available. The appointed candidate is expected to interact closely with other members of the Physical Cosmology department and with collaborators working on lattice methods for inflation.
Applicants are expected to have a strong numerical / computational background and experience with early-universe cosmology, field theory in an expanding universe, and/or high-performance lattice simulations. Familiarity with gauge fields in inflation, primordial non-Gaussianity, or gravitational-wave phenomenology is an advantage.
Salaries are paid at German civil service rates (the gross annual pre-tax income includes a special annual payment and depends on prior post-doctoral experience). The position comes with 30 days holiday entitlement, social security insurance (e.g. health insurance), and social benefits according to the regulations for public service.
The MPA (https://www.mpa-garching.mpg.de/) is a major German institution dedicated to theoretical, computational, and interpretational research in astrophysics and cosmology. We are situated north of Munich on a research campus which hosts the largest European concentration of astronomers. The campus is directly connected to central Munich by subway. The Institute offers a vibrant research community, runs a vigorous visitor programme and is housed in an attractive, specially designed building with excellent infrastructure, including powerful MPA-owned parallel computing clusters. It has also privileged access to supercomputers at the Max Planck Computing and Data Facility.
Interested scientists are invited to apply electronically via
https://wwwmpa.mpa-garching.mpg.de/appl/lat2026/register.php
Candidates should upload (1) a full curriculum vitae (including the names and contact details of three references), (2) a publication list, and (3) a summary of their past research achievements and a statement on how they anticipate their expertise to mesh with the goals of NewPhysCMB / WP3, by 8 December 2026. Reference letters are not required at the application stage. Please provide the names and contact details of three referees in your CV. Referees of shortlisted candidates will be asked for a letter during the second stage of review (tentative deadline mid-January), so please let them know to expect our request.
The Max Planck Society is committed to increasing the number of individuals with disabilities in its workforce and therefore encourages applications from such qualified individuals. Furthermore, the Max Planck Society seeks to increase the number of women in those areas where they are underrepresented and therefore explicitly encourages women to apply. MPA wishes to increase diversity and equality of opportunity in all respects and welcomes applications without regard to factors such as nationality, ethnicity, disability, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, or sexual orientation.
