PhD postion at Max Planck Institute Hamburg

We are looking for a phD student to work in the Theory Department of the Max-Planck-Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter (MPSD) in Hamburg under the direction of Angel Rubio.

The focus of the project is the development of a first-principles method for the description of spectroscopies that involved electronic excitations of core levels in solid state systems based on TDDFT (time-dependent density functional theory) and requires both conceptual/theoretical and computational developments. On the computational side, you will be involved in the implement a method for the description of core-electrons in the real-space code OCTOPUS, which requires an advanced handling of multi-resolution real space grids. On the theoretical side, you will work towards defining a way to compute observables  of core-level excitations and involve correlations to valence electrons and how to extract materials properties from it.

Therefore, we are looking for a candidate who is keen to undertake scientific software development as well as having a strong background in solid state physics, preferably including many-body perturbation theory and/or theoretical spectroscopy.

We are looking for highly motivated applicants with an excellent academic background. Applicants will hold an MSc degree or an equivalent degree in Physics, bring excellent written and oral communication skills and the ability to communicate in English to an international scientific audience. Furthermore, the applicant will be able to work with a measure of autonomy and a willingness to participate creatively in a collaborative team environment.

In addition, some prior experience with one or more of the following is beneficial:

• Computational modeling of materials and good practice in numerical methods

• Experience in developing scientific software in the area of electronic-structure theory

• Electronic structure methods and theories in particular with core-valence excitations and ultrafast processes

• Ability to adapt, refine or innovate computational tools as needed

• Motivation and ability to work independently as well as in an international team

Please send a cv to [email protected]