Postdoctoral Researcher - Survey Science/Time Domain Astronomy

The Pennsylvania State University
remote work
United States, Pennsylvania, University Park
201 Old Main (Show on map)
Oct 20, 2025
APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS: CURRENT PENN STATE EMPLOYEE (faculty, staff, technical service, or student), please login to Workday to complete the internal application process. Please do not apply here, apply internally through Workday. CURRENT PENN STATE STUDENT (not employed previously at the university) and seeking employment with Penn State, please login to Workday to complete the student application process. Please do not apply here, apply internally through Workday. If you are NOT a current employee or student, please click "Apply" and complete the application process for external applicants. Approval of remote and hybrid work is not guaranteed regardless of work location.For additional information on remote work at Penn State, seeNotice to Out of State Applicants. This is a term position; length of the term will be discussed during the interview process. Continuation past the termlengthdiscussed willbebasedonuniversityneed,performance,and/oravailabilityoffunding. POSITION SPECIFICS The Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics at Penn State invites applications for a Postdoctoral Researcher to work with Professor Charlotte Ward and collaborators. The successful applicant will work on projects related to analysis of Rubin, Euclid, and La Silla Schmidt Southern Survey (LS4) data. Research areas of interest include: implementation of multi-resolution forward modeling techniques for joint survey processing of Rubin and Euclid; time-domain science across Rubin, Euclid, and LS4; variable AGN population studies; time-delay cosmography with strongly lensed supernovae; and changing-look AGN/tidal disruption event/supernova host galaxy studies. Applicants with an interest in joint survey analysis methods, machine learning applications to survey data, and large-scale survey processing pipelines are strongly encouraged to apply regardless of their sub-field. The successful applicant will have the opportunity to join collaborative efforts from a range of working groups associated with Rubin, Euclid, and LS4. Penn State has a significant community of researchers who study high-energy transients, variable AGN, and machine learning methods. Penn State is home to the Institute for Gravitation and the Cosmos and its Center for Multimessenger Astrophysics, as well as the Institute for Computational and Data Sciences and the Center for Astrostatics and Astroinformatics. Education and Experience A PhD in Physics, Astronomy, Computer Science, or a closely related field is required. Experience with HPC systems, jax, python, or similar programming languages, machine learning, and transient/AGN science would be an advantage. Additional Information Applications must be submitted electronically and include a cover letter, statement of research interests, a CV, and a list of publications. In addition, please arrange for three professional reference letters to be sent to cvw5890@psu.edu. Review of applications will begin December 20, 2025, and will continue until the position is filled. Applications received by December 20 will receive full consideration. The expected start date is September 1, 2026, but is negotiable. Questions regarding the application process can be directed to cvw5890@psu.edu. BACKGROUND CHECKS/CLEARANCES Employment with the University will require successful completion of background check(s) in accordance with University policies. BENEFITS Penn State provides a competitive benefits package for full-time employees designed to support both personal and professional well-being. For more detailed information, please visit our Benefits Page. 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