Postdoc position in Molecular Astrophysics, Instituto de Física Fundamental, Madrid, Spain (Deadline:01.02.2026)

A new postdoctoral position for three years (the duration of the subproject) is now open in Madrid, at the Molecular Astrophysics Group at IFF-CSIC, as part of the ERC Starting Grant ISOCOSMOS. The successful candidate will work alongside me and an international team of astronomers, physicists and computational chemists to unravel the mechanisms driving molecular imbalances in the interstellar medium, and to exploit the information that molecular isomers provide to diagnose these environments.

The contract is expected to start around April 2026, with the administrative procedures beginning in February 2026, meaning that the required PhD must be obtained by that date.

Position details:

During the first stages of ISOCOSMOS, the successful candidate will contribute to the development of a database of detected and potentially detectable interstellar isomers, together with the physical descriptors that will aid in their detection. In parallel, the candidate will develop machine learned interatomic potentials to investigate key reactions on interstellar substrates through molecular dynamics simulations, focusing on the partitioning among the different isomeric channels after the reactions.

Requirements:

  • A PhD in Physics, Astrophysics or Computational Chemistry obtained before February 2026

  • Good programming and data management skills. Specific knowledge of molecular machine learning will be valued

  • Good oral and written communication skills in English

  • A solid publication record in any of the disciplines listed above

Welcomed skills:

  • Good knowledge of the astrochemical field, particularly regarding recent advances in chemical complexity and molecular detections

  • Prior experience with computational software

If you are interested in working with us in Madrid, please send a short CV to german.molpeceres@iff.csic.es. Informal enquiries are also encouraged. Do not hesitate to contact me even if your skills do not exactly match the above requirements, including prospective PhD students, as additional positions will open in the future.