Outline:

University of Vienna offers a PhD position as part of the ERC consolidator grant EASE (Early Earth, Venus, and Mars as Exoplanets) led by Kristina Kislyakova. The project explores the joint evolution of Earth, Venus, and Mars and their place in the larger family of exoplanetary systems. The student will study the atmospheric evolution of the three planets and their exoplanetary analogues with the focus on non-thermal loss processes and will extensively study the role the magnetosphere plays in the atmospheric escape and general habitability. The student will also join the Vienna International School of Earth and Space Sciences (VISESS).

What is funded:

Starting date is flexible, but preferably in February/March 2025
Funding: 75% position (30h/week) for 4 years
Job Classification in Collective Bargaining Agreement: §49 VwGr. B1 (predoc) (https://personalwesen.univie.ac.at/en/jobs-recruiting/salary-scheme/)

Position is funded for four (4) years.

Your Profile:

• Completed Master's degree or Diploma in the field of astrophysics or physics
• Basic knowledge of astrophysics
• Programming skills (Fortran and Python are the main languages of the project; knowledge of other programming languages is beneficial)
• Excellent command of written and spoken English
• Excellent ability to work in a team and excellent communication skills

The University Offers:

• Inspiring working atmosphere: You will have the opportunity to work within a dedicated team on cutting-ede science, while profiting from the international environment in the Department of Astrophysics (https://astro.univie.ac.at/en/). We have privileged access to the Vienna Scientific Cluster (VSC; https://vsc.ac.at/) super-computing facility. As a member state of ESO (https://www.eso.org/) and ESA (https://www.esa.int/), Austria has access to their world-class observing facilities.
• Good public transport connections: Your working place, the University Observatory, is located in the middle of the natural monument Observatory Park in the lively city of Vienna with outstanding public transport.
• Work-life balance: Our employees enjoy flexible working hours. Upon agreement, hybrid working hours within Austria might be possible up to a certain extent.
• Internal further training & Coaching: Opportunity to deepen your skills on an ongoing basis. There are over 600 courses to choose from – free of charge.
• Fair salary: A basic gross salary of EUR 3,578.80 (on a 40h/week basis) per month, 14 times a year.
• Equal opportunities for everyone: We look forward to diverse personalities in the team!

Please prepare your application as follows:

• a motivation letter (max. two pages)
• a curriculum vitae with a list of publications and presentations
• name, affiliation and email address of two referees (referees will be contacted after the application deadline)
• Bachelor’s and Master’s diploma and transcripts 

Application deadline: 04.11.2024 (4th of November 2024)
Please send your application as a single PDF file named firstname_lastname_PhD.pdf to kristina.kislyakova@univie.ac.at

Questions and informal inquiries about this position are welcome and should also be sent to Kristina Kislyakova (kristina.kislyakova@univie.ac.at)