The BDNYC AMNH Postdoctoral Scientist 

Job Description:

The Brown Dwarfs in New York City research group (BDNYC, bdnyc.org) is recruiting a postdoctoral scientist for a 2-year appointment (with potential for a third year or other flexibility, see details below). BDNYC is a research group based at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, NY. The group is led by three PIs, one based at AMNH and two based at the City University of New York (CUNY), and includes postdocs, graduate students, and undergraduate students. The group has institutional access to the South African Large Telescope and high performance computing resources.

The ideal candidate has experience with observational and/or theoretical studies of low-mass stars, brown dwarfs, and/or giant exoplanets. The scientific scope of the project will relate to atmospheric retrievals, or spectral inversion techniques, of brown dwarfs and directly imaged exoplanets. Prior knowledge of such methods or relevant retrieval codes are highly encouraged, but not required. The BDNYC hosts a database of brown dwarf and exoplanet observations along with their derived properties, including a library of objects observed through the citizen science project called “Backyard Worlds: Planet 9”.  The postdoctoral fellow will be fully integrated into the BDNYC research group as a senior member and will be expected to mentor graduate and undergraduate students, as well as invited into the Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 collaboration.  

The timing and funding level of the position is flexible and could be funded at 100% for two years, with flexibility to be employed at 50–100% for up to three years. This will allow the postdoc to pursue other professional opportunities (education, public outreach, journalism/media, data science, etc.) and/or to devote time to personal/family responsibilities, if desired. Possibilities for additional salary support include numerous teaching and outreach opportunities at AMNH and adjunct teaching positions at CUNY. 

Applications should conform to the AAS Postdoctoral Applications Guidelines. In addition to a CV, a research statement (3 pages max), and list of references, please also include a brief cover letter (2 pages max) describing your interest in this particular position at AMNH with BDNYC. Please email the application materials as a single PDF to Jackie Faherty (jfaherty@amnh.org) with the subject line “BDNYC AMNH Postdoctoral Application”. Applications will start being reviewed immediately, those received before December 1st will receive full consideration.  If there are any questions at all about the position please do not hesitate to reach out to any of the PI’s: Jackie Faherty (jfaherty@amnh.org), Kelle Cruz (kellecruz@gmail.com), or Emily Rice (erice@amnh.org).