Engineering & Technology Research Fellowship 2017

The European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere has as primary mission to build and operate state-of-the-art facilities for the advancement of astronomical research. A strong Research & Development (R&D) programme is therefore at the core of ESO's activities. Following the framework of its prestigious Fellowship Programme, ESO is awarding one postdoctoral fellowship to an outstanding early-career researcher in engineering or other technical disciplines to further develop her/his independent research programme by joining one of the ESO's on-going projects.

ESO is the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation in Europe. In the north of Chile, ESO runs the La Silla Paranal Observatory which includes the sites of La Silla, Paranal and the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX). ESO is also a major partner of ALMA and is currently building the E-ELT. Those state-of-the-art programmes require a strong R&D component carried out in-house, in close collaboration with researchers and engineers working at institutes and at the high-tech industries located within the ESO Member States.

The ESO Engineering and Technology Research (EETR) Fellow will be based at ESO's Headquarters in Garching near Munich, Germany. ESO Headquarters is situated in one of the most active research centres in Europe. ESO's offices are adjacent to the Max-Planck-Institutes for Astrophysics (MPA), for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE) and of Quantum Optics (MPQ), and to the Technical University Munich (TUM), and also close to Munich's Ludwig-Maximilian University (LMU). ESO is participating in the Excellence Cluster Universe present on the Garching campus. The Garching campus also hosts the Leibniz Supercomputing centre (Leibniz-Rechen Zentrum or LRZ).

The fellowship starts with an initial contract of one year followed by a two-year extension (three years total). The EETR Fellow is expected to work in one of the current engineering-related R&D projects for a minimum of 50% of her/his time (see tentative list here: <http://www.eso.org/sci/activities/Engfellowship.html>). The remaining time may be dedicated to independent research on condition that it focusses on one of the broad topical areas identified for ESO R&D projects.

The fellowship is open to applicants who will have obtained a PhD degree in an engineering related discipline by 1 November 2017. A Master degree with additional R&D experience in the industry or research organisations is considered equivalent. Candidates with a background in physics or astronomy are also welcome to apply, provided their work focusses on R&D with broad relevance to ESO's R&D programme. The quality of the research plan is the primary selection criteria.

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, if any, and including an outline of your technical/practical experience;
• a proposed research plan (maximum of one page);
• an outline of why you wish to join one of the above-mentioned ESO projects (maximum one page);
• the names and contact details of three persons familiar with your research and/or engineering 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 December 2016. Review of the application documents, including the recommendation letters, will begin immediately. Incomplete or late applications will not be considered.

Candidates will be notified of the results of the selection process between January 2016 and February 2017. Fellowships will begin in the second half of 2017.

Current areas of ESO research and development are:

• Adaptive optics and related components including lasers, deformable mirrors, wavefront sensing, fast low-noise sensors, real-time computers;
• Mechanics and cryogenics;
• Scientific detectors for imaging and spectroscopy, including infrared (HgCdTe) and visible detectors (CCD and CMOS);
• System simulation and modelling including deformable mirrors, telescope seeing effects, exposure time calculators, instrument modelling and simulation.

Further Information

Details of the Terms of Service for fellows including details of remuneration are available at: http://www.eso.org/public/jobs/conditions/fellows/

For any additional questions please contact: Eric Emsellem, email: eric.emsellem@eso.org .

Although recruitment preference will be given to nationals of ESO Member States (members are: Austria, Belgium, Brazil, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom) no nationality is in principle excluded.

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