Open Positions/Calls

The Department of Astrophysics at the University of Zurich seeks to attract future Principal Investigators of ERC Starting Grants. Successful candidates would acquire the status of Assistant Professor and will be integrated into the Faculty of Science of the University of Zurich. The University of Zurich has a world-class scientific computing infrastructure that includes dedicated access to the tier-0 facilities of the Swiss National Supercomputing Centre in Lugano and a GPU high-performance cluster for large-scale machine learning experiments. We offer a diverse, open-minded and international environment. The department members are heavily involved, with leading roles, in large national and international projects (e.g., NCCR PlanetS, Ariel, DESI, Einstein Telescope, Euclid, JUICE, LISA Consortium, MWA, Plato, SKA) as well as ongoing ALMA and JWST observational programs. Several groups in applied mathematics, statistics, data science and computer-based visualization are co-affiliated with the department.p>

Your responsibilities

The candidates should bring a concrete project idea as well as a short project description (at most 3 pages). Above all, the candidates should bring an inspiring, exciting research idea! In addition to their research contributions, we expect successful candidates to play a pivotal role in teaching the department bachelor/master programs, cultivating and leading an independent science group, fostering collaboration (including with students and postdocs at the department), and mentoring the next generation of scientists.

Your profile

The department will only consider candidates who match the eligibility criteria of the ERC Starting Grants funding scheme:

• Having a doctorate (PhD) or an equivalent qualification and at least two years of research experience after the doctorate / equivalent qualification
• Eligible up to seven years after the date of PhD defense as of 1 January 2026

We are inviting applications in the general fields of Astrophysics, Planetary Science, Astrobiology, Galaxy Formation, Space Exploration, and Cosmology. We particularly encourage applications from researchers specializing in planetary, exoplanet, and space sciences from a theoretical, numerical, or observational perspective. This includes, but is not limited to, planetary atmospheres and exoplanetary characterization, planetary evolution, planetary magnetic fields and star-planet interaction, proto-stellar and protoplanetary disks, modelling of matter at the high pressures of planetary interiors, remote sensing of solar system planets, small bodies, searches for bio-signatures in the atmospheres of exoplanets, and space exploration of planets and moons. Candidates whose research has clear links to ongoing research activities of the institute will be preferred.

Further information and application

Did we spark your interest?
We invite grant applicants who are interested in choosing the Department of Astrophysics at the University of Zurich as their host institution to directly apply via the official job advertisment. Applicants should submit a CV, a publication list, contact information for 3 references, and a concise 3-page project description as a single PDF. Applications received by 15 August 2025 will receive full consideration. While we encourage early applications, submissions after 15 August 2025 may also be considered. After an internal evaluation, interviews are held online with the most promising candidates.