Postdoc Position on Optical Atomic Clocks

Are you a eager to apply optical clocks to real-world challenges and to explore new optical clock operating principles, all in a lively international research group?

Our Ultracold Strontium Gases Group is offering a postdoc position on our QuantumDelta NL (QDNL) Ultracold Atom Quantum Sensing Testbed. QDNL advances quantum technology and brings it closer to applications by collaborating with industry, startups and users. Our group is headed by Prof. Florian Schreck and is part of the Quantum Gases & Quantum Information (QG&QI) cluster at the Institute of Physics (IoP) of the University of Amsterdam (UvA). We exploit ultracold Sr for quantum simulation, quantum sensing, and quantum computing.

What are you going to do?

You will work on two projects. You and the QDNL team will design and build a highly reliable optical lattice clock, based on our AQuRA project. With our partners from VSL and VU, we will distribute the frequency reference of this clock through fibre links across the Netherlands and ultimately Europe. In parallel, you and the QDNL team will create continuously operating optical clocks (a superradiant clock and a zero-deadtime, multi-ensemble clock). Such a clock should ultimately be able to average down to a precision of 10^-18 in minutes instead of the hours needed by todays clocks. This benefit will unlock new possibilities from fundamental science to society.

Your experience and profile

• A PhD in experimental ultracold atom or trapped ion physics
• Motivation to work with an ambitious and nice team in a challenging, but rewarding, research field
• Good command of English

Our offer

We offer a temporary employment contract for 38 hours per week for a period of one year. Based on performance the contract can be extended up to 4 years. The preferred starting date is October 2024, but other dates can be discussed. The gross monthly salary, based on 38 hours per week and dependent on relevant experience, ranges between € 3,345 to € 5,278 (scale 10). This does not include 8% holiday allowance and 8,3% year-end allowance. A favourable tax agreement, the ‘30% ruling’, may apply to non-Dutch applicants. The Collective Labour Agreement of Universities of the Netherlands is applicable.

Besides the salary and a vibrant and challenging environment at Science Park we offer you multiple fringe benefits:

• 232 holiday hours per year (based on fulltime) and extra holidays between Christmas and 1 January;
• multiple courses to follow from our Teaching and Learning Centre;
• a complete educational program for PhD students;
• multiple courses on topics such as leadership for academic staff;
• multiple courses on topics such as time management, handling stress and an online learning platform with 100+ different courses;
• 7 weeks birth leave (partner leave) with 100% salary;
• partly paid parental leave;
• the possibility to set up a workplace at home;
• a pension at ABP for which UvA pays two third part of the contribution;
• the possibility to follow courses to learn Dutch;
• help with housing for a studio or small apartment when you’re moving from abroad.