Job Summary
Category: Post-doctoral Positions and Fellowships
Institution: The University of Texas at Austin
Department: Astronomy / Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences
Number of Positions Available: 1
Duration: 3 Years
Could the duration be extended?: No
Work Arrangement: In-Person
In-Person Location(s): Austin, TX / United States
Job Description
NSF-Simons AI Institute for Cosmic Origins (CosmicAI) seeks to hire a postdoctoral fellow to initiate a comprehensive research program exploring the surrogate modeling of astrophysical systems. Based at UT Austin, the Fellow will collaborate with CosmicAI researchers within the Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences and with team members across the Institute to develop cutting-edge AI tools and methodologies. CosmicAI fellows will have full access to Institute facilities and equipment (e.g., world-class computational resources at the Texas Advanced Computing Center, including a newly instantiated 600 GPU node cluster).
CosmicAI aims to advance transformative AI with the overarching goal of increasing access to astronomy data and knowledge for researchers, students, and the public. CosmicAI leverages partnerships between academia (UT Austin, U. of Virginia, U. of Utah, UCLA), national facilities (NSF NRAO and NSF NOIRLab), nonprofits, and industry to develop capabilities that enable astronomical researchers to conceptualize, define, and execute research projects via trustworthy, efficient, robust, and explainable AI methods. By building next-generation AI tools, the Institute aims to accelerate discoveries related to the most basic human question: Where do we come from?
The Fellow will be expected to spend 50% of their time on CosmicAI-related research efforts, with the remaining 50% available for independent research; ideally there will be substantial overlap between the two. The appointment is for two years, starting September 1, 2027, with possible renewal for a third year.
Qualifications:
A PhD in astronomy, physics, statistics, computer science, or a related field awarded between September 1, 2025 and September 1, 2027.
Ability to contribute to interdisciplinary research in broad areas across astronomy and computational science.
Expertise in computational astrophysics, machine learning, and/or star formation.
Preferred:
Experience with large-scale data analysis and proficiency in programming languages commonly used in AI research (e.g., Python, TensorFlow, PyTorch, JAX).
Compensation and Benefits
Compensation Type: Salary
Stipend: $80,000.00 USD
Included Benefits: Information about benefits is available at https://postdocs.utexas.edu/employment/benefits. The position includes a relocation stipend of up to $1,000.
Application Details
Application Instructions
The following documents are required.
- Cover letter (maximum 1 page).
- Statement of past research and potential future research directions (maximum two pages without references), emphasizing experience with numerical modeling, star/planet formation, machine learning, and/or interdisciplinary work.
- A CV including a list of publications
- Three letters of recommendation.
Note: Upload all application documents, including recommendation letters (sent directly by the composer/signer/professor), to the Box folder linked below. The recommendation letters should be in PDF format, and the file name should follow this structure: "applicant-name_composer-name.pdf"
Publication Start Date: 2026 Sep 30
Application Deadline: 2026 Nov 23
Inquiries
Name: Stella Offner
Email: soffner@astro.as.utexas.edu