Postdoctoral Positions in Gravitational-Wave Science
Location: Potsdam, Germany (Albert Einstein Institute)
Type: Postdoctoral appointments, 2–5 years · Anticipated start fall 2027
Application deadline (full consideration): 23 November 2026
Gravitational-wave astronomy is moving from discovery to precision science. The Astrophysical and Cosmological Relativity (ACR) department at the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (AEI) in Potsdam, led by Alessandra Buonanno, works across the full chain of that transition — from first-principles modeling of strong-field gravity, through numerical relativity, to the analysis and interpretation of data from LIGO, Virgo and KAGRA today, and from Einstein Telescope, Cosmic Explorer and LISA in the decade ahead.
Positions
- General appointments in the ACR department, at junior and senior postdoctoral level
- Several positions within the ERC Synergy Grant "Making Sense of the Unexpected in the Gravitational-Wave Sky"
- One position within the Simons Collaboration on Black Holes and Strong Gravity
- One position within the Center of Gravity, shared between the AEI (two years) and the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen (two years)
Research areas
- Analytical modeling of gravitational dynamics and radiation (EFT, PN/PM, self-force, black-hole perturbation theory, effective-one-body)
- Numerical relativity of compact objects
- Observation and interpretation of gravitational-wave data from ground-based and space-based (LISA) detectors
- Acceleration of gravitational-wave inference, including machine-learning methods
- Astrophysics of compact objects; cosmography with gravitational waves; tests of gravity in the strong-field regime
How to apply
Submit via the AEI job portal: cover letter, CV, publication list, research statement (≤3 pages excluding references), and contact details for three referees. Reference letters must arrive by the deadline. Salary and benefits follow TVöD Bund (normally E13 where criteria are met).
