Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Exoplanetary Sciences
Deadline: 18.01.2026
Publisert
The University of Oslo is Norway’s oldest and highest rated institution of research and education with 26 500 students and 7 200 employees. Its broad range of academic disciplines and internationally esteemed research communities make UiO an important contributor to society.
Centre for Planetary Habitability (PHAB) is a Norwegian Centre of Excellence that provides a stimulating and well-funded research environment. PHAB’s main goal, based on detailed studies of Earth and our solar system, is to develop predictive models to identify habitable planets around other stars. PHAB research activities comprise three interrelated research themes: (1) Planets and Early Earth, (2) Modern Earth and (3) Exo-Earths. The centre was established in 2023 and will consist of approximately 70 full time and part time professors and researchers, PhD Research Fellows and Postdoctoral Research Fellows.
About the position
Position as Postdoctoral ResearchFellow in Exoplanetary Sciences is available at the Centre for Planetary Habitability (PHAB), Department of Geosciences, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Oslo (UiO).
Starting date 01.04.2026 or as soon as possible thereafter.
The appointment is a fulltime position and is for a period of three years (10% of which is devoted to other career promoting work, usually in the form of teaching activities).
No one can be appointed for more than one Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at the University of Oslo.
Place of work is PHAB, the Department of Geosciences at Blindern, Oslo.
Project description
The position is associated with the Centre for Planetary Habitability and linked to the “Galactic Recipe for Exo-Planets” (GREP) project funded by the Research Council of Norway. GREP’s objective is to take exoplanet and exoplanetary system formation modelling to the next level.
Several thousands of exoplanets have been discovered in more than 5000 stellar systems, and several thousands more planets are pending confirmation. Although this high number allows for good statistical analyses of the known exoplanets and the systems they occur in, none of the systems resemble our solar system, and only a few hundreds of exoplanet can broadly be considered temperate and rocky. Consequently, the collection lacks typical inner solar system planets (i.e., Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars), and the systems are commonly very compact.
Despite the numerous numerical models that have been proposed and progressively refined by the observational constraints over the past decade(s), our understanding of the observed exoplanetary diversity remains incomplete. The upcoming PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars (PLATO) mission shall detect and characterise planets smaller than twice the Earthʼs size at high parameter accuracy for planet radius and mass and system age around bright stars. The anticipation of more extended systems, although they probably will not resemble the solar system either, is challenging our standard models of planet formation. Our goal is to predict and reproduce the architecture of these exoplanetary systems and the exoplanet properties, including composition, thereby testing currently competing planet formation models against observations.
The primary responsibilities of this position involve the implementation of chemical compositions for forming exoplanets, using PLATO stars as a compositional guide. This includes assessing the distribution of specific elements during condensation in the stellar nebula, gathering elemental availability for the major rock-forming and volatile elements across planet forming disks. It specifically entails tracing the chemical composition back to dynamical models of planet formation, focusing on the building blocks and feeding zones for each forming planet. This work will build upon our previous work and shall incorporate new disc models for N-body simulations of planet formation.
The work is carried out in collaboration with the PhD fellow, who is yet to be hired, and the entire GREP Team.
The main purpose of a postdoctoral fellowship is to provide the candidates with enhanced skills to pursue a scientific top position within or beyond academia. To promote a strategic career path, all postdoctoral research fellows are required to submit a professional development plan no later than one month after commencement of the postdoctoral period.
What skills are important in this role?
The Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences has a strategic ambition to be among Europe’s leading communities for research, education and innovation. Candidates for these fellowships will be selected in accordance with this, and expected to be in the upper segment of their class with respect to academic credentials.
Qualification requirements:
Applicants must hold a degree equivalent to a Norwegian doctoral degree in (exo)planetary sciences or a closely related discipline
The doctoral dissertation must have been submitted for evaluation by the application closing date for the current position - only applicants with an approved doctoral thesis and public defence are eligible for appointment
Strong background in scientific programming
Experience with numerical methods that can address chemical composition in dynamical models of planet formation (such as condensation sequence, stellar and protoplanetary disc’s elemental abundances for major rock-forming and volatile elements)
Fluent oral and written communication skills in English
Desired qualifications:
Documented knowledge about the distribution of specific elements during condensation in the stellar nebula
Documented knowledge about protoplanetary discs
Documented knowledge about condensation sequences for major rock-forming and volatile element, including numerical treatment
Documented knowledge about the compositional relation between star and planet compositions
All candidates and projects will have to undergo a check versus national export, sanctions and security regulations. Candidates may be excluded based on these checks. Primary checkpoints are the Export Control regulation, the Sanctions regulation, and the national security regulation.
What are we looking for in you?
Personal skills:
Strong quantitative and analytical skills
Good communication and interpersonal skills
Ability to create and contribute to a well-functioning, inclusive and productive research environment
Ability to work independently as well as in multidisciplinary teams
Ability to give and receive constructive scientific criticism
Employment in the position is based on a comprehensive assessment of all qualification requirements applicable to the position, including personal skills.
We can offer you
Exciting and meaningful tasks in an organization with an important societal mission, contributing to knowledge development, education, and enlightenment that promote sustainable, fair, and knowledge-based societal development
Committed colleagues in a good working environment
Membership in the Statens Pensjonskasse, which is one of Norway's best pension schemes with beneficial mortgages and good insurance schemes
Salary in position as Postdoctoral Fellow, position code 1352 in salary range NOK 595 000 - 690 000, depending on competence and experience. From the salary, 2 percent is deducted in statutory contributions to the State Pension Fund
We need different perspectives in our work
UiO is an open and internationally oriented comprehensive university that strives to be an inclusive and diverse workplace and academic environment. You can read more about UiO’s work on equality, inclusion, and diversity at uio.no.
We fulfill our mission most effectively when we draw upon our variety of experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives. We are looking for great colleagues, could you be the next one?
We will do our best to accommodate your needs. Relevant adjustments may include modifications to working hours, task adaptations, digital, technical, or physical adjustments, or other practical measures.
If you have an immigrant background, a disability, or CV gaps (Norwegian), we encourage you to indicate this in the job application portal. We always invite at least one qualified candidate from each group for an interview. In this context, disability is defined as an applicant who identifies as having a disability that requires workplace or employment-related accommodations. For more details about the requirements, please refer to the Employer portal (Norwegian).
The selections made in the job application portal are used for anonymized statistics that all state employers include in their annual reports. More information about gender equality initiatives at UiO can be found here. We hope you will apply for the position with us.
How to apply
The application must include:
Cover letter (statement of motivation, summarizing scientific work and research interest)
CV (summarizing education, positions, pedagogical experience, administrative experience and other qualifying activity)
Copies of educational certificates, academic transcript of records
A complete list of publications and up to 5 academic works that the applicant wishes to be considered by the evaluation committee
Names and contact details of 2-3 references (name, relation to candidate, e-mail and telephone number)
Application with attachments must be submitted via our recruitment system Jobbnorge, click "Apply for this job".
When applying for the position, we ask you to retrieve your education results from Vitnemålsportalen.no. If your education results are not available through Vitnemålsportalen, we ask you to upload copies of your transcripts or grades. Please note that all documentation must be in English or a Scandinavian language.
General information
The best qualified candidates will invited for interviews.
Please see the guidelines and regulations for appointments to Postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Oslo.
If an applicant has applied for and been granted funding for a fulltime research stay abroad while being employed as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow, the employment will be prolonged with the equivalent time as the research stay, but for no longer than of twelve months ( thus extending the employment to a maximum of four years)
No one can be appointed twice as a Postdoctoral fellow financed with funds from The Research Council of Norway (NFR).
Applicant lists can be published in accordance with Norwegian Freedom of Information Act § 25. When you apply for a position with us, your name will appear on the public applicant list. It is possible to request to be excluded from this list. You must justify why you want an exemption from publication and we will then decide whether we can grant your request. If we can't, you will hear from us.
