Post-Doctoral Research Associate in Detector Development

The Astronomy Instrumentation Group at Cardiff University is seeking applications to fill the position of Postdoctoral Research Associate. 

The successful applicant will work within the Astronomy Instrumentation Group (AIG) on an exciting and ambitious research programme to develop and deploy full Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detector (MKID) based focal planes as part of the Simons Observatory. The arrays will be integrated into full optical and cryogenic systems being built at Cardiff and will be installed on the Simons Observatory’s 6-m large aperture telescope and two additional small aperture telescopes. This project will be the first deployment of Kinetic Inductance Detectors in a Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) experiment and will accelerate the use of this technology for future CMB applications. 

The successful applicant will work with a team of researchers developing detector technology at Cardiff as well as the wider Simon Observatory Collaboration and will contribute to the development of MKID based multi-chroic and polarisation-sensitive detector modules. The successful applicant will also work closely with senior process engineers working in the new Institute for Compound Semiconductors (ICS) facility at Cardiff to develop the processing techniques and designs required to realise the MKID array architecture and meet the stringent requirements of a world-class observatory.

This post provides a unique opportunity for the successful candidate to demonstrate work on a large-scale and prestigious project as well as creating opportunities for the deployment of MKID technology in future CMB experiments. 

Applicants can contact the PIs Professor Simon Doyle or Professor Erminia Calabrese ahead of application.

There is a single post available appointed at grade 6.    
 
The position is full time and available for 36 months available to start immediately.

Salary: £35,333 - £42,155 per annum (Grade 6)

Information regarding the wider Simon Observatory Collaboration can be found at
https://simonsobservatory.org

Examples of related activity and projects within the Astronomy Instrumentation group, can be found at
https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/physics-astronomy/research/research-groups/chart

For information regarding the facilities of the Institute for Compound Semi-Conductors and the Translational Research Hub, see https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/institute-compound-semiconductors

For informal enquiries about the post please contact Prof Simon Doyle (simon.doyle@astro.cf.ac.uk)  or Prom Erminia Calabrese (calabresee@cardiff.ac.uk)

For informal enquiries about working at Cardiff School of Physics and Astronomy please contact PhysicsHR@cardiff.ac.uk or Enginadmin@cardiff.ac.uk

Closing date: Wednesday, 22 March 2023

Cardiff University is committed to supporting and promoting equality and diversity and to creating an inclusive working environment. We believe this can be achieved through attracting, developing, and retaining a diverse range of staff from many different backgrounds who have the ambition to create a University which seeks to fulfil our social, cultural and economic obligation to Cardiff, Wales, and the world. In supporting our employees to achieve a balance between their work and their personal lives, we will also consider proposals for flexible working or job share arrangements.

Cardiff University is a signatory to the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), which means that in hiring and promotion decisions we will evaluate applicants on the quality of their research, not publication metrics or the identity of the journal in which the research is published. More information is available at: Responsible research assessment - Research - Cardiff University

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