University of Amsterdam, String Theory Group, Institute of Physics

Position ID:

UvA-String Theory Group, Institute of Physics-POSTDOC [#31050]

Position Title:

Postdoctoral fellow

Position Type:

Postdoctoral

Position Location:

Amsterdam, North Holland 1098 XH, Netherlands (Kingdom of the)

Subject Areas:

Physics / hep-th, HEP-Theory (hep-th), High Energy Physics, high energy physics or mathematical physics, High Energy Theory, Mathematical Physics, quantum gravity, String Theory, String Theory/Quantum Gravity/Field Theory, string-math, Theoretical high energy physics, Theoretical High-Energy

Appl Deadline:

2025/12/17 11:59PM help popup

(posted 2025/10/31, listed until 2026/04/30)

Position Description:

The string group at the University of Amsterdam invites applications for postdoctoral fellows starting in the fall 2026. The faculty members in the string theory group are Jácome Armas, Daniel Baumann, Jan de Boer, Miranda Cheng, Lorenz Eberhardt, Ben Freivogel, Diego Hofman, Mikhail Isachenkov, Andrea Puhm, Jan Pieter van der Schaar, Erik Verlinde, Marcel Vonk.

The successful candidates will carry out their research within the Institute of Theoretical Physics (ITFA) at the University of Amsterdam. For more information about the research at the UvA, please consult the website https://iop.uva.nl/itfa/itfa.html.

We anticipate to fill several open positions:

- The group of Lorenz Eberhardt invites applications for a postdoctoral fellow with excellent research track record in String Theory and Mathematical Physics. The position is a full-time three-year appointment starting in Fall 2026. The position is funded by the ERC Starting Grant ``New Handles for String Scattering Amplitudes’’ whose aim is to develop new tools in the study of string theory. The candidate is expected to have a PhD in theoretical physics or a suitable area of mathematics and a solid background in quantum field theory, mathematical physics and string theory, and be interested in carrying out research in string theory. Contact: Lorenz Eberhardt, l.eberhardt at uva.nl

- The groups of Ben Freivogel and Erik Verlinde invite applications for a postdoctoral fellow in the QuRIOS collaboration. The QuRIOS collaboration brings together theorists from diverse backgrounds to develop theoretically well-founded proposals of quantum gravity and explore their possible observational signatures. The collaboration brings together diverse faculty at four Hub institutions: Yanbei Chen (Caltech) Ben Freivogel (Amsterdam) Steve Giddings (UCSB) Cynthia Keeler (ASU) Maulik Parikh (ASU) Erik Verlinde (Amsterdam) Kathryn Zurek (Caltech). Our research interests span quantum gravity, particle theory, string theory, gravitational waves, and astrophysics. The collaboration will feature extended visits between the collaboration hubs, and yearly workshops of all collaboration members to discuss open research questions and progress. To learn more about the collaboration visit http://qurios.caltech.edu/. Contact: Ben Freivogel (B.W.Freivogel at uva.nl)

- The Simons Collaboration on Celestial Holography invites applications for a postdoctoral position in the group of Andrea Puhm at the Institute for Theoretical Physics at the University of Amsterdam. The position is a full-time two-year appointment starting in Fall 2026, and may be extended to a third year upon successful performance, subject to funding and mutual agreement. This position is funded by the Simons Collaboration on Celestial Holography, made up of 13 PIs at 10 institutions around the world. The post carries the title "Simons Fellow in Celestial Holography," and carries with it the benefit of substantial opportunities for travel and scientific interaction. This includes funded travel to Collaboration meetings, workshops and schools as well as the potential for intra-collaboration research visits. The candidate is expected to have a PhD in theoretical physics and a solid background in quantum field theory, general relativity and mathematical physics, and be interested in carrying out research in celestial holography and related topics. Questions regarding this position should be directed to: Andrea Puhm (a.puhm at uva.nl)

- The Emergence at all Scales (EAAS) consortium invites applications for a postdoctoral position on holography in de Sitter spacetime at the University of Amsterdam. The EAAS consortium is the national flag-carrier of the NWA route 2 game changer Dutch Institute for Emergent Phenomena (https://www.d-iep.org). EAAS combines 8 Dutch and 1 Ukrainian university as well as Statistics Netherlands (CBS) in an interdisciplinary and collaborative endeavour aimed at understanding emergent phenomena across scales, combining multiple fields including physics, mathematics, astronomy, history & philosophy of science, and social science. EAAS is hiring a total of 20 PhD/postdoc scientists to join the team, and our project/group leaders share the ambition of gender parity in hires across EAAS. The position is a full-time two-year appointment starting in Fall 2026, and may be extended to a third year upon successful performance, subject to funding and mutual agreement. The candidate is expected to have a PhD in theoretical physics and a solid background in quantum field theory, general relativity and mathematical physics, and be interested in carrying out research in holography beyond AdS, including flat and dS, and related topics. Questions regarding these positions should be directed to Ben Freivogel (freivogel at uva.nl) or Andrea Puhm (a.puhm at uva.nl).

- The groups of Jay Armas and Jan de Boer invite applications for a two-year postdoctoral position at the University of Amsterdam on the topic of hydrodynamics and holography of spin in view toward applications to heavy-ion collisions and strongly coupled systems. The position is integrated in the consortium Emergence at All Scales (EAAS), which is the national flag-carrier of the NWA route 2 game changer Dutch Institute for Emergent Phenomena, and also involves collaboration with Wilke van der Schee at the University of Utrecht as well as with postdoc Ruben Lier at the University of Amsterdam. More details regarding this position are available here: https://www.d-iep.org/spinhydroposition. Contact: Jácome Armas, j.armas at uva.nl

- The group of Miranda Cheng has one opening for a postdoc position, and welcomes applications from candidates in the area of mathematical and theoretical physics. Candidates with interests and expertise in analytic number theory are also welcome to apply. The position is a full-time two-year appointment starting in Fall 2026, and may be extended to a third year upon successful performance, subject to funding and mutual agreement. Contact: mcheng AT uva DOT nl.

- Other positions might become available depending on the availability of funding.

Applying to this job listing will lead to the consideration for all of these positions. If you explicitly do not want to be considered for one of the positions, you can indicate this in your research proposal. The positions carry with them a competitive salary and travel funds. The gross monthly salary ranges between € 3,546 to € 5,538 (scale 10) commensurate with experience. The candidate is expected to have a PhD in theoretical physics or another suitable area.

For administrative questions, contact secr-iop-science@uva.nl.

Application Materials Required:

Submit the following items online at this website to complete your application:

Curriculum Vitae
Research statement
Three reference letters (to be submitted online by the reference writers on this site )

And anything else requested in the position description.

Further Info:

http://iop.uva.nl/strings

Universiteit van Amsterdam
Institute of Physics (IoP), FNWI
Science Park 904 | 1098 XH Amsterdam