Post-Doctoral Research Associate: Department of Physics and Astronomy

The Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, invites applications for a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Computational Astrophysics, starting August 2026 (or earlier by mutual agreement). This is a grant funded position.

The project aims to enable large-scale, multiphysics simulations of core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe) and related problems in general relativistic astrophysics. The postdoctoral researcher will join a multidisciplinary team of physicists, applied mathematicians, and computational scientists to develop computational tools that will enhance our understanding of CCSNe and provide improved predictions of their neutrino and gravitational-wave signals.

The successful candidate will contribute to the design, implementation, and application of novel methods for relativistic neutrino kinetics within the toolkit for high-order neutrino-radiation hydrodynamics (thornado). The project emphasizes advanced numerical techniques, including discontinuous Galerkin discretization and implicit–explicit time-stepping, combined with adaptive mesh refinement and multiscale time integration, for deployment on high-performance computing (HPC) systems.

The UTK–ORNL astrophysics group has a strong track record of securing time on leadership-class HPC systems, including the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF) and the National Energy Research Scientific Computing (NERSC) center. The postdoc will play an active role in the preparation and execution of large-scale computational campaigns on these resources.

Required Qualifications:

• Ph.D. in physics, astrophysics, mathematics, computational physics, or a closely related field, to be completed before the start of employment.      Applicants who expect to complete their degree by the start date are encouraged to apply.
• Demonstrated ability to publish research in peer-reviewed journals (preferably with lead-author publications).
• Programming experience in C, C++ or Fortran.
• Broad understanding of building computational tools for scientific investigation.
• Experience with implementing and testing numerical methods for solving partial differential equations. 

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with parallel programming (e.g., MPI, OpenMP).
• Experience with GPU programming (e.g., CUDA, OpenACC).
• Experience with adaptive mesh refinement frameworks (e.g., AMReX).
• Experience with advanced time integration libraries (e.g., SUNDIALS).

Work Location 

The postdoctoral researcher will be based at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and will collaborate closely with the UTK–ORNL astrophysics group, which includes physicists, applied mathematicians, and computational scientists. This is an in-person position.

Compensation and Benefits 

• Find more information on UT Benefits here
• Travel support for conferences and workshops.
• Mentoring opportunities with graduate and undergraduate students.
• Access to world-class HPC facilities through group allocations.

Application Instructions

For best consideration applicants should submit the below materials before December 1, 2025.

• Cover letter
• Curriculum vitae, including list of publications
• Research statement
• At least two letters of recommendation

About The Department

The Physics and Astronomy Department has an exemplary research record, with eight professors earning NSF CAREER awards since 2012, eight professors among the world's top two percent of physicists based on citation count, the award of the prestigious American Physical Society 2021 Bonner Prize, eleven APS Fellows, and four AAAS Fellows. The University of Tennessee, Knoxville is Tennessee's flagship state research institution, a campus of choice for outstanding undergraduates and a premier graduate institution with a number of nationally and internationally ranked programs and with national and international leadership in numerous fields.