Senior Scientist in Computational Astrophysics

Universität Wien

Job description:

The University of Vienna is internationally renowned for its excellence in teaching and research, and counts more than 7,500 academics from all disciplines. This breadth of expertise offers unique opportunities to address the complex challenges of modern society, to develop comprehensive new approaches, and educate the problem-solvers of tomorrow from a multidisciplinary perspective. We are looking for a

Senior Scientist in Computational Astrophysics

The 'Dynamics of Stellar Systems' research group, led by Prof. Glenn van de Ven, is part of the Department of Astrophysics. The research group constructs detailed dynamical models of galaxies and stellar clusters to infer the distribution of luminous and dark matter as well as to uncover the formation history of these stellar systems. Ready to be part of our team? 

Your working place:

The Department of Astrophysics with currently around 90 members is part of the Faculty of Earth Sciences, Geography and Astronomy at the University of Vienna. We are looking for a Senior Scientist to join the 'Dynamics of Stellar Systems' research group led by Prof. Glenn van de Ven. Our ideal candidate has a solid background in computational astrophysics, strong track record in software development, and keen interest in dynamics of stellar systems. A key task is to lead the development and support applications of our pioneering code for orbital modelling of stellar systems, publicly released under the name DYNAMITE.

The position is initially limited to 3 years with possibility to become permanent by mutual agreement. The starting date is as early as 1 November 2025 and no later than 1 October 2026.

Your future tasks:

You will actively participate in research, teaching and administration, which means: 

• You lead the software development and support research applications of the orbital modeling code DYNAMITE.
• You contribute software expertise to other computational astrophysical projects.
• You contribute to publications in peer-reviewed journals and to (re)presentations at international meetings.
• You (co-)supervise Bachelor, Master and Doctoral students in Astronomy.
• You teach within the provisions of the collective bargaining agreement.
• You take on administrative tasks in research and teaching.
• You become an engaged member of the 'Dynamics of Stellar Systems' research group and the Department of Astrophysics.

Your profile:

• You must hold a Doctoral/PhD degree in astronomy/astrophysics with affinity for programming, or in computer science/applied mathematics with affinity for astronomy/astrophysics.
• You can demonstrate excellent abilities to work in a team and excellent communication skills in English.
• You possess excellent programming skills; within the DYNAMITE code, the combination of computationally intensive dynamical models and stellar population models applied to state-of- the-art spectroscopy requires novel optimisation algorithms and efficient programming.
• You can show a proven track record in object-oriented programming as necessary in larger software development teams.
• You are capable of scientific programming in Python.
• You have experience with supercomputing clusters and are well-versed in shell scripting.
• You had exposure to cloud-based platforms like GitHub.

Additionally: 
• Main-author publications in renowned subject-relevant media are a strong plus.
• Very good organizational skills are highly desirable.
• Knowledge of parallel computing and use of GPUs are desirable.
• Supervision and teaching experience is an advantage.
• Expertise in dynamical modelling and stellar spectroscopy are assets.
• Presentation experience in an international setting is a benefit.

What we offer:

Inspiring working atmosphere: You will have the opportunity to work within a dedicated team on forefront science, while profiting from the international environment in the Department of Astrophysics. We have privileged access to the Austrian Scientific Computing (ASC) facility. As a member state of ESO and ESA, Austria has access to their first-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 are possible 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: The basic gross salary of EUR 4,932.90 (on a 40h/week basis; amount for 2025) per month, 14 times a year, increases if we can credit professional experience.

Equal opportunities for all: We look forward to diverse personalities in the team!

It is that easy to apply:

Please prepare your application as a single PDF file which includes:

• a motivation letter
• a curriculum vitae (with a list of publications and presentations)
• a statement of research interests (maximum of 3 pages)
• contact details of 3 persons who can provide a letter of recommendation

Via our job portal / Apply now -  button

If you have any content questions, please contact:

Glenn van de Ven

glenn.van.de.ven@univie.ac.at

We look forward to new personalities in our team! 
The University of Vienna has an anti-discriminatory employment policy and attaches great importance to equal opportunities, the advancement of women and diversity. We lay special emphasis on increasing the number of women in senior and in academic positions among the academic and general university staff and therefore expressly encourage qualified women to apply. Given equal qualifications, preference will be given to female candidates.

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Application deadline: 10/15/2025 

Apply now