LIGO Laboratory
Position ID:
LIGO Laboratory-EXP [#22727]
Position Title:
Instrument/Experiment Postdoctoral position at the LIGO Laboratory
Position Type:
Postdoctoral
Position Location:
Pasadena, California 91125, United States of America
Subject Area:
Appl Deadline:
(posted 2022/09/09, listed until 2024/11/04)
Position Description:
*** the listing date or deadline for this position has passed and new applications are no longer accepted. ***
The LIGO Laboratory anticipates having one or possibly more experiment/instrumentation postdoctoral research positions at one or more of the LIGO sites – Caltech, MIT and at the two LIGO Observatories in Hanford, WA and Livingston, LA – as positions become available. Hires will be made based on the availability of funding. Successful applicants will interact with faculty members Rana Adhikari and Lee McCuller (Caltech) and Matt Evans and Nergis Mavalvala (MIT) as well as the Lab’s extensive network of experienced researchers and personnel. Successful applicants will be involved in the operation of the world’s most sensitive interferometers, and/or the R&D program for future detector improvements. Examples include optimizing the squeezing of the vacuum to minimize quantum noise, a prototype cryogenic interferometer, using machine learning for nonlinear feedback control, devising techniques to quell opto-mechanical instabilities that can disable the interferometers, and designing new suspension systems for 100 kg test masses. We seek candidates across a broad range of disciplines. Expertise related to modeling, data analysis, electronics, laser and quantum optics, vibration isolation and control systems is desirable. Most importantly, candidates should be broadly trained scientists, willing to learn new experimental and analytical techniques, and ready to share in the excitement of building, operating and observing with a gravitational-wave observatory. A list of former postdocs at LIGO Hanford and LIGO Livingston is available here . Appointments at the post-doctoral level will initially be for one-year with the possibility of renewal for up to two subsequent years.
Applications for postdoctoral research positions with LIGO Laboratory should indicate which of the LIGO sites (Caltech, MIT, Hanford, or Livingston), if any, are preferred by the applicant, and which (if any) are likely to be unworkable. Caltech and MIT are Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employers. Women, minorities, veterans, and disabled persons are encouraged to apply. Applications should