Opportunities

Short-term postdoctoral research in time-domain astronomy of planetary systems

A one-year appointment as a postdoctoral assistant researcher in the field of time-domain astronomy is available at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa The successful applicant will be expected to carry out research on a topic of their choice within the area of variability and transients of young stars and their circumstellar material in collaboration with investigators at the Institute for Astronomy, the Department of Earth Sciences, and Department of Information and Computer Sciences. Possible topics include but are not limited to: detection and characterization of young stellar``dipper” objects with ground- and space-based data, transiting exocomets, planetesimal disruptions and debris disks, occulting disks, and analysis of and anomaly detection in photometric time series using machine learning. The successful applicant will disseminate their research findings as a presentation at a scientific conference and as one or more publications in peer-reviewed journals, as appropriate. The successful applicant would have access to all telescopes on Maunakea and Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope through the University of Hawaii time allocation committee. The Institute for Astronomy is also a node of the ASAS-SN sky survey network and home to the ATLAS and Pan-STARRS (https://panstarrs.ifa.hawaii.edu/pswww/) surveys. The starting date is September 1 2025 or as soon as possible thereafter, and the appointment ends on August 31 2026. Renewal of the appointment beyond that date will depend on availability of funding and satisfactory performance. Benefits include a salary commensurate with experience (up to $90,000 annual) plus full benefits, and mentoring on proposal writing, research organization, student supervision, and instruction. Applications must have received a PhD in astronomy, astrophysics, or planetary sciences, and have excellent command of written and spoken English. The successful applicant will be granted PI status, have the ability to write grant proposals, and join a Hawaii-based team in the multi-institutional Interdisciplinary Consortium for Astrobiology Research.

Prospective candidates should apply at https://www.rcuh.com/work/careers/ for position ID #225343. Applications received by August 1 will receive full consideration. For any inquiries contact Eric Gaidos at gaidos@hawaii.edu

Casual summer hire (postdoctoral level)

A position as a three-month summer hire at the postdoctoral level at the University of Hawaii will soon be open for applications. The employment period will be June-August 2026 and cannot be extended. Applicants must have a PhD in astronomy, astrophysics, planetary science, or closely related area. The successful applicant will spend 50% of their effort on co-directing a summer visitor program on “Exploring Planetary Systems in the Era of Time-domain Astronomy” and 50% of their effort on their own research. For inquiries, contact: gaidos@hawaii.edu

Graduate student Research Assistantships

One or more research assistantships are avialable for qualified students who are enrolled in the graduate programs of the Institute for Astronomy, Earth and Planetary Sciences, or Information and Computer Sciences Department at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Successful applicants will conduct research on a project within the domain of current research areas (see Research). For inquiries, contact: gaidos@hawaii.edu