Three Postdoctoral Fellowships (Covington, Plaskett and Herzberg Instrument Science)

The Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Centre (HAA) of the National Research Council (NRC) is pleased to announce a 2024 competition for the prestigious Covington, Plaskett and Herzberg Instrument Science Postdoctoral Fellowships. Each of these fellowships is an independent, 3-year term science position. 

• The Covington Fellowship at the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory (DRAO) in Penticton, BC, Canada. 

• The Plaskett Fellowship at the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory (DAO) in Victoria, BC, Canada.

• The Herzberg Instrument Science Fellowship at either DRAO or DAO. 

At NRC Herzberg, you will be part of a vibrant and exciting community of over 100 experts in astronomy research, instrumentation design and development, engineering, data science, and observatory support. Our environment fosters innovation and collaboration, providing the ideal setting for ground-breaking astronomical research. These fellowships aim to mentor the next generation of scientific leaders who will enable ambitious cutting-edge astronomy research in the coming decades.

Desired start date: September 2025

 

Research Areas:

NRC Herzberg staff are active in a wide range of research areas:

• Exoplanets, Solar System objects and circumstellar disks

• Stellar properties and evolution

• Star formation and the Interstellar Medium

• Magnetic fields

• The Milky Way and Local Group

• Near-field cosmology

• Galaxy evolution and supermassive black holes. 

More information on the staff and their research interests is available at http://astroherzberg.org.

 

State-of-the-art Facilities:

Engage with development for current and future ground- and space-based facilities from the UV to radio, including:

• Radio correlators and signal processing

• Radio receivers and antenna design

• Adaptive optics and UV/optical/near-IR Instrument Science

• Pathfinder instruments and on-sky demonstrators.

Further information on NRC Herzberg facilities can be found at https://nrc.canada.ca/en/research-development/research-collaboration/research-centres/herzberg-astronomy-astrophysics-research-centre

 

What We Offer:

• Innovative Research: Conduct original research independently and via internal or external collaborations.

• World-Class Resources: Access to current and planned facilities such as the SKA, the Canadian Hydrogen Observatory and transient Radio Detector (CHORD), ALMA, the Rubin Observatory, the Gemini Observatory,  the Canada France Hawaii Telescope, and state-of-the-art Instrument Science labs. NRC Herzberg is also home to the Canadian Astronomy Data Centre (CADC), which provides scientific data preservation, distribution, and analysis services to the community. The CADC is also home to the Canadian Virtual Observatory, the CANFAR cloud computing network, and extensive data archives.

• Competitive Salary and Benefits: The salary range is from $83,985 to $116,641 (CAD) per annum, depending on experience. Benefits include comprehensive health insurance, paid parental leave, pension contributions, and more.

• Work-Life Balance: NRC-Herzberg is committed to providing a flexible working environment for all staff.

 

What We Are Looking For:

We are seeking outstanding recent doctoral graduates in astronomy, astrophysics or a related field who are highly motivated to leverage NRC’s facilities and contribute to pioneering research.

We welcome applications from researchers in any area of astrophysics. We are particularly interested in candidates specializing in the fields of Extrasolar Planets, the Dark Universe, Time-Domain and Multi-Messenger Astronomy. We also highly encourage applications from those conducting research or developing new technologies essential for the next generation of radio facilities (e.g., SKA, ALMA2030, CHORD, ngVLA).

 

Join Us and Shape the Future of Astronomy:

Be part of NRC Herzberg’s mission to advance astronomical research and technology. Benefit from our extensive expertise and resources, including the Canadian Astronomy Data Centre and the CANFAR cloud computing network. We are looking for candidates with an observational background and/or an interest in constraining theories with observations. Additionally, you will work with other postdoctoral fellows to organize the NRC Herzberg weekly seminars, which run from September to April.

The initial appointments are of three years duration. In addition to highly competitive benefits and salary, Fellows will receive support for observing, conference, and collaboration travel, page charges, and access to professionally managed computation infrastructure and resources.

Applicants must have acquired their Ph.D. within the last five years upon taking up a Fellowship (exemptions for parental or other leaves of absence will be considered) or will complete all requirements for their Ph.D. within 6 months of assuming the Fellowship.

NRC is an equal opportunity employer. Priority will be given to the following designated employment equity groups: women, Indigenous peoples (First Nations, Inuit and Métis), persons with disabilities and racialized persons.

Applications should be made by 15 November 2024 via the process described at the URL provided below.

More information on each of these Fellowships is available:

https://nrc.canada.ca/en/corporate/careers/plaskett-fellowship

https://nrc.canada.ca/en/corporate/careers/covington-fellowship

https://nrc.canada.ca/en/corporate/careers/herzberg-instrument-science-fellowship