PhD Positions Icy Moons and their Oceans

Help uncover how the hidden oceans on icy moons like Enceladus, Europa, and Ganymede interact with their surfaces and can be observed. Join a highly interdisciplinary ERC-funded team combining laboratory experiments, modelling and JWST data to explore the most promising extraterrestrial environments for life.

Job Description

Most oceans in our Solar System lie beneath kilometres of ice. Yet on moons such as Enceladus, Europa and Ganymede, ocean water leaks through cracks, plumes and surface fractures, offering rare natural access to environments that may support life. The ERC Advanced Grant LeakingOceans aims to determine how efficiently ocean material reaches the surface, how these processes work, and how we can detect their signatures with modern astronomical instruments such as the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

Within this ambitious program, three PhD candidates will work closely together to build a microscopic-to-global understanding of ice formation, plume processes and ocean–surface transport. Their combined efforts will generate new laboratory data, physical models and spectroscopic tools to interpret remote-sensing observations of icy moons. You will join an interdisciplinary and international team that integrates laboratory astrochemistry, spectroscopy, quantum chemistry, radiative-transfer modelling and planetary science.

Each PhD project has a distinct focus but is designed for strong scientific interaction:

• PhD 1 | Deposition and evolution of ultrathin ice layers
  You will experimentally reproduce the formation of ice films near cracks or vents under icy-moon conditions. By monitoring structural evolution during thermal cycling and irradiation, you will determine how crystallinity, porosity, volatile content and morphology of the ice develop over time. Infrared and Raman spectroscopy will form the core of your work, delivering a dedicated spectral database to interpret JWST observations in collaboration with modelling partners.
• PhD 2 | Formation and properties of icy grains in plume and spill-out processes
  You will investigate how oceanic water freezes to become icy grains as it escapes through plumes or surface cracks. Laboratory plume simulations, ice-grain characterisation and volatile diffusion measurements will reveal grain structure, trapping efficiencies and their spectral fingerprints. Your results will support cross-moon comparisons and help decode JWST’s spatial and spectral variations.
• PhD 3 | Ocean–surface transport modelling
  You will model how ocean material is transported through icy shells via plume flow, volatile diffusion, brine migration and surface condensation. Using constraints from the experimental PhDs, you will generate global leakage-efficiency maps for Europa, Ganymede and Enceladus and compare them with JWST observations. Your work will provide system-level insight into how and where ocean signatures appear at the surface.

All three PhD candidates will work in close collaboration, benefiting from complementary approaches and shared scientific goals. You will join a vibrant research environment, contribute to the interpretation of cutting-edge JWST data and help advance the search for habitable environments beyond Earth. Two postdoc positions will join the team at a later stage.

Job Requirements

• Please indicate clearly in your application which of the three PhD positions (1, 2 or 3) has your preference, and why.
• A Master’s degree in physics, planetary science, astrochemistry, applied mathematics, fluid dynamics or a closely related field (depending on the chosen PhD project).
• Strong motivation to conduct interdisciplinary research within an international scientific team.
• For PhDs 1–2: experience or clear affinity with experimental methods, spectroscopy or laboratory studies of ices or materials.
• For PhD 3: experience or affinity with numerical modelling, fluid dynamics, or computational physics.
• Strong analytical skills and the ability to work independently and collaboratively.
• Good spoken and written English, enabling effective teamwork in our diverse community.

TU Delft

Delft University of Technology is built on strong foundations. As creators of the world-famous Dutch waterworks and pioneers in biotech, TU Delft is a top international university combining science, engineering and design. It delivers world class results in education, research and innovation to address challenges in the areas of energy, climate, mobility, health and digital society. For generations, our engineers have proven to be entrepreneurial problem-solvers, both in business and in a social context.

Faculty Aerospace Engineering

The Faculty of Aerospace Engineering at Delft University of Technology is a leading international community where innovation in aerospace meets global challenges. Our support and scientific staff, including PhD candidates, postdocs, and students, largely work together on three main themes: the energy transition, sustainable aerospace, and safety and security, with the aim of tackling climate change and contributing to the independence and security of Europe.

When you join us, you become part of a diverse, collaborative, and forward-thinking environment where your ideas and perspectives are valued. Our work extends beyond the lab—into field labs, innovation hubs, and partnerships with other faculties, research institutes, governments, and industry, both locally and globally.

You don’t just join our faculty — you join a community where you can thrive, grow, and help shape the future of aerospace.

Conditions of Employment

Doctoral candidates will be offered a 4-year period of employment in principle, but in the form of 2 employment contracts. An initial 1.5 year contract with an official go/no go progress assessment within 15 months. Followed by an additional contract for the remaining 2.5 years assuming everything goes well and performance requirements are met.

Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, increasing from €3059 - €3881 gross per month, from the first year to the fourth year based on a fulltime contract (38 hours), plus 8% holiday allowance and an end-of-year bonus of 8.3%.

As a PhD candidate you will be enrolled in the TU Delft Graduate School. The TU Delft Graduate School provides an inspiring research environment with an excellent team of supervisors, academic staff and a mentor. The Doctoral Education Programme is aimed at developing your transferable, discipline-related and research skills.

The TU Delft offers a customisable compensation package, discounts on health insurance, and a monthly work costs contribution. Flexible work schedules can be arranged.

Additional Information

If you would like more information about this vacancy or the selection procedure, please contact Stéphanie Cazaux, via S.M.Cazaux@tudelft.nl.