"Postdoctoral Employee - Department of Astronomy"

Position overview

Position title: Postdoctoral Scholar

Salary range: The UC postdoc salary scales set the minimum pay determined by experience level at appointment. See the following table for the current salary scale for this position: https://www.ucop.edu/academic-personnel-programs/_files/2025-26/represented-oct-2025-scales/t23.pdf A reasonable estimate for this position is $75,000-$80,000.

Percent time: 100%

Anticipated start: August 2026

Position duration: The initial appointment is for two years with the possibility of an extension based on performance and the availability of funding.

Application Window

Open date: October 15, 2025

Next review date: Monday, Dec 15, 2025 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Apply by this date to ensure full consideration by the committee.

Final date: Monday, Mar 2, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Applications will continue to be accepted until this date, but those received after the review date will only be considered if the position has not yet been filled.

Position description

The Department of Astronomy at UC Berkeley is seeking up to two highly motivated individuals to carry out postdoctoral research on nearby galaxies using data from a variety of facilities such as the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), Euclid, Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), and Keck, and may share overlap with science related to the Ultraviolet Explorer (UVEX) in collaboration with Prof. Daniel Weisz and members of his research group. The successful applicant(s) will have the opportunity to lead high impact projects and papers in major programs such as JWST and HST surveys of Local Group galaxies (including M31 and dwarf galaxies), a JWST treasury program targeting the Virgo Cluster, and a Euclid survey of Local Volume targets. A portion of each position also provides the ability to pursue independent research.

Weisz's research group is located in the Astronomy Department at UC Berkeley. The group consists of a research staff, postdocs, graduate and undergraduate students broadly studying the stellar populations of nearby galaxies with a variety of cutting edge facilities (e.g., HST, JWST, Keck). The group interfaces with various research programs at Berkeley (e.g., DESI, UVEX) and works closely with simulators and theorists to interpret results.

The successful applicant will:

• Be responsible for the reduction and/or analysis of observations of nearby galaxies acquired with facilities such as HST, JWST, Keck.
• Lead first and co-author publications in peer-reviewed journals.
• Help to design, plan, and implement new observing programs.
• Attend professional topical conferences and give presentations (e.g., talks, posters).

Union: https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/resources/employment-policies-contracts/bargaining-units/postdoctoral-scholars/contract/

Lab: https://dweisz.github.io/

Qualifications

Basic qualifications (required at time of application)
A PhD or equivalent international degree or enrolled in a PhD (or equivalent international degree) program.

Additional qualifications (required at time of start)
A PhD or equivalent international degree is required by the start date. The candidate should have no more than three years of post PhD research experience.

Preferred qualifications
A PhD degree or equivalent international degree in Astronomy, Astrophysics, or a related field. Experience is particularly desired in areas including resolved stellar populations, local galaxies, stellar photometry, semi-resolved stellar populations (e.g., surface brightness fluctuations), and/or stellar evolution, though broader background in adjacent fields (e.g., galaxy evolution, large surveys) is also of interest.

Application Requirements

Document requirements

• Curriculum Vitae - Your most recently updated C.V.
• Cover Letter
• Research Statement - Include past and current research as well as an explanation for their interest in the position (up to 3 pages).
• Publication list

Reference requirements

• 3 letters of reference required

Apply link: https://aprecruit.berkeley.edu/JPF05188

Help contact: emartinez24@berkeley.edu

Job location

Berkeley, CA