2 PhD positions in Observational Cosmology at IFAE

About IFAE

The Institut de Física d’Altes Energies (IFAE) is a public consortium of the Generalitat de Catalunya, the Autonomous Government of Catalonia, and the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB, a public university) whose main objective is to carry out research and to contribute to the development of high energy physics from a theoretical, experimental and technological point of view. IFAE has the status of a “University Institute" attached to the UAB and its premises are within the campus of the University.

About the Observational Cosmology group

The IFAE Cosmology group is presently formed by 5 faculty, 7 post-docs and 6 PhD students and is a full member of the Dark Energy Survey (DES), the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), the Euclid Consortium and the Dark Energy Science Collaboration (DESC) of the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) at the Rubin Observatory. The group plays leading roles in the analysis of DES, DESI and Euclid, and is preparing for the data exploitation of the LSST-DESC survey.

Required skills and evaluation criteria

The successful candidate will be expected to have:

A master in Physics or equivalent
Knowledge of Python and strong programming skills
Experience in data analysis.
Experience working with super-computers
Advanced knowledge of English

The evaluation criteria and their weighting for the submitted applications will be the following:

Overall quality of the CV: 40 points
Recommendation letters: 30 points
Performance at the interview: 30 points

What will be your role?

The successful candidates will join the Observational Cosmology group at IFAE, as well as the DESI and / or LSST-DESC collaborations. They will actively contribute to the data analysis of these surveys, develop new methods to simulate the datasets and investigate possible contaminants and mitigation strategies.

Offered contract:

Both positions:

Internship Contract (1 year maximum) followed by Predoctoral Contract (4 years maximum).
The position will correspond to “Research Technician” and later to “Predoctoral Researcher (R1)” within the professional categories of the IFAE.
Full-time contracts (40h/week).
Salary will be proportional to experience and qualifications within the corresponding category range.
The selected candidates are expected to join the IFAE on September/October.

Application and Selection process:

Applications should be submitted to Dr. Andreu Font-Ribera (afont@ifae.es ) and rrhh@ifae.es stating the job reference (IFAE2025/05_COSMOLOGY_2PhDStudent) as the subject of the message. The mail should include a cover letter and an updated CV. The candidates should also arrange for up to two reference letters to be sent to the same address by the closing date. Sending CVs to the above addresses implies consent to the IFAE’s legal warning on data privacy.

IFAE is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity in the workplace and social integration of people with a disability. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates. People from groups that are typically underrepresented in the labour market in general and in Science and Engineering in particular, such as women, minorities, or people with a disability, are particularly encouraged to apply.

A Selection Committee will evaluate the received applications. If more than one candidate seems equally suitable for the position, the Selection Committee will arrange an on-line interview with each one of them as part of the Selection process.

In compliance with article 121 of the Spanish Public Sector Legal Regime Act, staff with a pre-existing relationship with the Consortium administration (Generalitat de Catalunya and Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona) will have priority in the awarding of the position.

You may contact Dr. Andreu Font-Ribera (afont@ifae.es ) for any questions related to this job opening.