Fellowship Programme Chile 2015/2016

Fellowships are available both at ESO's Headquarters in Garching near Munich, Germany, and at ESO's astronomy centre in Santiago, Chile.

ESO Headquarters is situated in one of the most active research centres in Europe, boasting one of the highest concentrations of astronomers. ESO's offices are adjacent to the Max-Planck-Institutes for Astrophysics and for Extraterrestrial Physics and close to the Observatory of Munich's Ludwig-Maximilian University. Additionally, ESO participates in the "Universe" Excellence Cluster at the Garching Campus, which brings together nearly 200 scientists to explore the origin and structure of the Universe, and is also associated with the Computational Center for Particle and Astrophysics (C2PAP). Consequently, ESO Fellows in Garching have many opportunities to interact and collaborate with astronomers at neighbouring institutes.

In Chile, Fellows have the opportunity to collaborate with the rapidly growing Chilean astronomical community as well as with astronomers at other international observatories located in Chile. The advent of the new ALMA building next to ESO's Santiago offices and the arrival of many astronomers and fellows working on the ALMA project have further enhanced the stimulating scientific environment available to ESO Chile Fellows.

The fellowships in Garching start with an initial contract of one year followed by a two-year extension (three years total). In addition to developing their independent research programmes, ESO Garching Fellows will be expected to engage in some functional work, at a level of 25% of their time, related to e.g. instrumentation, VLTI, ALMA, E-ELT, science operations support either in Garching or at one of ESO's observatories in Chile, or public outreach. This provides the Fellows with the opportunity to get involved with ESO projects or operations, and to gather valuable insights and experience not available in any other setting.

The fellowships in Chile are granted for one year initially, with annual extensions for three additional years (four years total). During the first three years, the Fellows are assigned to one of the science operations groups of Paranal, ALMA or APEX, where they will contribute to the operations at a level of 80 nights per year. For ALMA fellows, a fraction of their duties can alternatively be spent on data processing, participation in the ALMA review process as technical experts, software testing, and optimization and extension of the array capabilities. During the fourth year of Chile fellowships several options are provided. The Fellow may be hosted by a Chilean institution where she/he will be eligible to apply for time on all telescopes in Chile through competition for Chilean observing time. Alternatively, the Fellow may choose to spend the fourth year either at ESO's astronomy centre in Santiago, at ESO Headquarters in Garching or at any astronomy/astrophysics institute in an ESO Member State. There are no functional duties during the fourth year, except in the case that the fourth year is spent at ESO Chile where Fellows are expected to carry out functional work up to 25% of their time.

The programme is open to applicants who will have achieved their PhD in astronomy, physics or a related discipline before 1 November 2016. Early-career scientists from all astrophysical fields are welcome to apply. Scientific excellence is the prime selection criterion for all fellowships.

We offer an attractive remuneration package including a competitive salary and allowances (tax-free), comprehensive social benefits, and we provide financial support for relocating families.

If you are interested in enhancing your early career through an ESO Fellowship, then please apply by completing the web application form available at http://jobs.eso.org.

Please include the following documents in your application:

• a cover letter;
• a Curriculum Vitae with a list of publications (ONLY published papers, NOT papers in preparation);
• a proposed research plan (maximum two pages);
• a brief outline of your technical/observational experience (maximum one page);
• the names and contact details of three persons familiar with your scientific work and willing to provide a recommendation letter. Referees will be automatically invited to submit a recommendation letter. However, applicants are strongly advised to trigger these invitations (using the web application form) well in advance of the application deadline.

The closing date for applications is 15 October 2015, and review of the application documents, including the recommendation letters, will begin immediately. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Candidates will be notified of the results of the selection process between December 2015 and February 2016. Fellowships will begin in the second half of 2016.

Further Information:

For more information about the fellowship programme and ESO's astronomical research activities, please see: http://www.eso.org/sci/activities/FeSt-overview/ESOfellowship.html. For a list of current ESO staff and fellows, and their research interests please see: http://www.eso.org/sci/activities/personnel.html. Details of the Terms of Service for fellows including details of remuneration are available at: http://www.eso.org/public/employment/fellows.html. For further general information about fellowship applications, please see our Frequently Asked Questions - FAQ: http://www.eso.org/sci/activities/FeSt-overview/ESOfellowship/ESOfellowship-faq.html. Questions not answered by the above FAQ page can be sent to:

For Chile: Claudio De Figueiredo Melo, Tel. +56 2 463 3032, email: cmelo@eso.org.

No nationality is in principle excluded however, recruitment preference will be given to nationals of Austria, Belgium, Brazil, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

The post is equally open to suitably qualified female and male applicants.