Category: Job Positions

2 Postdoctoral Research positions – The Open University

The Open University (Milton Keynes, United Kingdom) is recruiting researchers for two postdoctoral positions in the field of planetary science/cosmochemistry.

Applications close at 11:59 pm on Wednesday, 15th October. For more information follow these links:

  1. Postdoc in the field of Primitive Asteroids:

https://jobs.open.ac.uk/job/Post-Doctoral-Research-Associate-Primitive-Asteroids/1050-en_GB

Job listing on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/4302331461/?capColoOverride=true

  1. Postdoc in the field of Differentiated Meteorites:

https://jobs.open.ac.uk/job/Post-Doctoral-Research-Associate-Differentiated-Meteorites/1062-en_GB

Job listing on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/4302322720/?capColoOverride=true

Postdoctoral Fellow – School of Integrated Biology and Chemistry Sciences (Edinburg, Texas, USA)

The Astrobiochemistry Lab (https://eloicamprubi.com/) at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV), led by Dr. Eloi Camprubi, is looking for a postdoctoral researcher to join by Fall 2025, funded by the National Science Foundation.

Probe the capability of amphiphiles to self-assemble into vesicle compartments and develop a robust methodology for studying their individual and population composition.
Assess if vesicles display generational heredity – allowing for a primitive form of evolution by natural selection.
Custom-made microfluidic setups will be used to enable the precise control and manipulation of vesicle systems constrained to the microliter scale.

Required education:

A Ph.D. in Biochemistry, Chemistry, or related disciplines from an accredited University.

Required experience:

Expertise with vesicle/liposome study and manipulation, including confocal microscopy

Preferred experience:

Experience with microfluidics systems or dynamic mathematical modeling
Experience within the fields of astrobiology and abiogene

Salary

Commensurate with Experience

Get in contact:

📩: careers@utrgv.edu

🌐: careers.utrgv.edu

📞: +1 (956)665-2451 or +1 (956)882-8205

Application deadline: July 31st 2025.

PhD Studentship in Analytical Tools within Contamination in Spacecraft & Satellite Industry (UK)

The Open University (Milton Keynes, UK) would like to advertise the following PhD position:

Development and validation of innovative, near real-time analytical tools to enable mitigation of contamination within cleanrooms of the UK spacecraft & satellite industry.

Open University Supervisory team: Claire Batty; Vic Pearson; Geraint Morgan

Project Highlights: 

  • Opportunity to develop expertise in cutting edge volatile organic compound detection and analysis for contamination detection.
  • Opportunity to develop skills in analytical techniques, contamination control, and materials and process (M&P) protocols within the space sector.
  • This industrial CASE studentship is a collaboration between The Open University (OU) and Airbus Defence and Space Ltd (Airbus DS) providing both academic and industrial research experience.

The aims of this studentship are: 

  1. To identify, profile and catalogue volatile, semi-volatile and surface organic compounds in cleanrooms and understand the influence of VOCs on bonding, and cleaning methodologies.
  2. To develop techniques, in partnership with the Airbus technical team, to help identify individual contamination compounds, and assess risk of silicone contamination vs cure.
  3. To develop analytical strategies to then deal with real time contamination events.
  4. To develop and optimise analytical methods for flight hardware, cleanroom surfaces and air.

Application deadline: August 1st 2025, 5pm GMT

More information about the project and how to apply here.

PhD Position in Origins of Life research at the University of Amsterdam (Amsterdam, the Netherlands)

Are you interested in a PRELIFE PhD position in prebiotic laboratory (geo/photo)chemistry?

There’s an exciting opportunity to perform research on From Building Blocks to Polymerisation on Water-rich Worlds, an Experimental Exploration. A laboratory exploration of how planet- and space-born building blocks may polymerise into molecular structures under varying prebiotic conditions, such as level of oxygenation, UV radiation, and impacts.

Do you have a MSc degree in physics, physical chemistry, geochemistry or adjacent fields? Do you like working in an interdisciplinary environment, independently and within a team? Here is your chance to do a PhD in an inspiring and challenging environment, where you will be able to perform state-of-the-art experiments and collaborate with other disciplines, scientists, PhD students, artists, and the general public.

Apply for this PhD project >here<

🧪 Application deadline: June 10, 2025
🌍 Start date: Autumn 2025
📍 Open to candidates worldwide

👉 Explore all PRELIFE opportunities here

Postdoctoral Opportunity at the Centre for Astrophysics and Planetary Science at the University of Kent (Canterbury, UK)

The Centre for Astrophysics and Planetary Science at the University of Kent is pleased to announce that an STFC-funded PDRA position is available within the Impact Group.

The project is titled ‘Exploring the fundamentals of impact capture to maximise future dust collections’ and will make use of the Impact Group’s two-stage light gas gun facility to explore the most appropriate methods to collect cosmic dust for three mission scenarios relating to space mission/experiment concepts currently in development:

  • The collection of dust from the volcanic plumes of Io
  • The collection of dust from icy plumes of Enceladus
  • The opportunistic collection of dust in the Near-Earth environment by space hardware

The successful candidate will work with an interdisciplinary team led by Dr Penny Wozniakiewicz, which covers physics, planetary science, chemistry and biosciences. They will use a range of analytical instrumentation, including optical and electron microscopes, GC-MS, MP-AES and Raman spectroscopy to assess the performance of different available capture media.

They will also join our active external collaborations with members of the Io and Enceladus dust sampling mission concept teams, providing key underpinning data for these and future mission concepts.

The closing date for applications is Monday 9th June, with interviews to be held the week starting 16th June.

For further information and details on how to apply, please click here.

Alternatively, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Dr Penny Wozniakiewicz.

PhD Positions in Origins of Life Research (several locations in the Netherlands)

Curious about how life began—and where it might arise beyond Earth? PRELIFE is a new European doctoral network offering 15 fully funded PhD positions across disciplines like geochemistry, synthetic biology, complex systems, and astrobiology.

From simulating early Earth to building synthetic life, each project tackles a different piece of the puzzle.

🧪 Application deadline: June 10, 2025
🌍 Start date: Fall 2025
📍 Open to candidates worldwide

👉 Explore all opportunities here

PhD Opportunity in Space Microbiology at ZARM (University of Bremen, Germany)

Are you passionate about space and microbiology? The Center of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity (ZARM) at the University of Bremen is looking for a motivated PhD researcher to join the ERC-funded MarCyano project. This 3-year position offers the chance to explore how cyanobacteria could help sustain future human missions to Mars — by producing oxygen, food, and other essentials using Martian resources.

Who can apply?
If you have (or are about to complete) a Master’s in Microbiology, Molecular Biology, or a related field, and you’re excited about space research and hands-on lab work, this could be a great fit!

Location: Bremen, Germany
Deadline to apply: June 1, 2025
Find out more and apply: Click here

Postdoctoral Opportunity in Astrobiology at the Centro de Astrobiología (CAB, Madrid, Spain)

The Centro de Astrobiología (CAB) is looking for a Postdoctoral Researcher to join the Lipid Biomolecules in Planetary Exploration group. This 1.5-year position (starting around September 2025) is part of the ExPresBio project, which investigates the preservation of lipid biomarkers under astrobiology-relevant conditions, including Martian-like radiation environments.

Who should apply?
PhDs in Astrobiology, Geoscience, Environmental Science, Biogeochemistry, or Organic Geochemistry with skills in radiation experiments, GC-MS, IRMS, and data analysis (e.g., R, Python).

Location: Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain.
Apply by sending your CV and motivation letter to:
lsanchez (at) cab.inta-csic.es

More details can be found here

Postdoctoral Research Associate in Lunar Volatiles (Open University, England)

An 18-month postdoc position funded by the UK Science and Technology Funding Council (STFC) is available. The research will involve mineralogical and isotopic studies of lunar samples, including measurements of light element volatiles by nanoSIMS. The deadline for application is 20th March 2025, with a notional start date of 1st May 2025. Follow the link below to see the full advert and how to apply.

https://jobs.open.ac.uk/job/Post-Doctoral-Research-Associate-(Lunar-Volatiles)/630-en_GB/

PhD Opportunity: Studying Biosignatures Under Martian Irradiation in Orléans (France)

A PhD position at CNRS in Orléans, France, offers a unique opportunity to investigate how biosignatures survive in the harsh environment of Mars.

Mars was once habitable, with liquid water on its surface, but over time, its atmosphere thinned, and radiation exposure increased. Despite this, ancient rocks on the Martian surface might still hold evidence of past microbial life. This PhD project will explore how cosmic radiation affects these biosignatures over billions of years, helping refine the search for life on Mars—especially for upcoming missions like ESA’s ExoMars.

The research involves using a particle accelerator (CEMHTI Pelletron) to simulate Martian irradiation, analyzing how different minerals protect biosignatures, and collaborating with space mission teams. It’s a fantastic chance to contribute to astrobiology and planetary exploration.

📅 Application deadline: March 14
📍 Location: CNRS, Orléans, France

🔗 More details & application: CNES Website

For further inquiries, feel free to reach out to Dr. Frédéric Foucher.