Join the team

We are looking for four highly motivated post-docs to work on the search for strong lensing systems in the time domain to investigate the nature of dark matter and shed light on the Hubble tension. The positions will last for 2.5 years (30 months with possible extension) and the call will open on April 21st, 2026 - with deadline 11th May, 2026 at 11pm CEST.
All the post-docs will be based at the Bologna headquarters of the the INAF Institute for Radioastronomy.
Please, check regularly the page "Work with us" of the webiste of the Institute of Radioastronomy, where all the job opportunities will be published with the relative applying procedure.

For more info about the scientific projects, send an email to cristiana.spingola@inaf.it.
For info and clarifications about the technical aspects of the Call, please write to inafirabo@pcert.postecert.it.

Scientific profiles

Profile "Dark Matter" (2026INAFRIC/IRA/DARKER/002)

Two post-docs will exploit high-time-resolution programmes at high energies to search for low-mass lenses, which are currently missed by standard lens-search techniques. The abundance of low-mass lenses is a key constraint to the nature of dark matter (i.e., cold versus alternative dark matter particle models).

For this profile the following expertise will be preferred: Fermi-LAT and/or gamma-ray data analysis in general; light curve and/or time domain analysis in general; blazars and gamma/radio emission processes; AGN jets; radio-VLBI observations of blazars and/or gravitational lenses; dark matter models; gravitational lensing models; experience in estimating time delays of gravitational lenses and/or patterns in AGN light curves; experience in High Performance Computing (HPC), big data analysis, artificial intelligence/machine learning.

Profile "Hubble tension" (2026INAFRIC/IRA/DARKER/003)

Two post-docs will analyze the time series photometry from optical all-sky surveys to discover hundreds of new variable lensing systems, which largely exceed the minimum number of lenses necessary to constrain H0 at 1% precision level. This estimate will be truly independent of any other cosmological probe, and is required to shed light on the current H0 tension from local and early Universe probes, which deeply challenges the ΛCDM cosmology. This precision is expected to be the best among the local Universe probes. Two post-doc positions will be devoted to this part of the project.

For this profile the following expertise will be preferred:
Experience in: GAIA and/or optical (photometric and spectroscopic) data analysis in general; light curve and/or time domain analysis in general; quasars and their optical emission processes; optical observations of gravitational lenses; gravitational lensing models (galaxy and galaxy-cluster scales); experience in estimating time delays of gravitational lenses and/or patterns in AGN light curves; cosmology, with a particular focus on the estimation of H0, Omega_matter, and Omega_Lambda; experience in High Performance Computing (HPC), big data analysis, artificial intelligence/machine learning.

Useful readings: Vegetti et al. 2026, Nature Astronomy ; Birrer et al. 2024, Review ; Treu et al. 2022, Review ; Bag et al. 2022 ; Lovell et al. 2020 ; Spingola et al. 2019 ; Geiger & Schneider 1996

Eligibility

The post-doc candidates must possess the requirements when submitting the application:

• a MSc degree in "Physics" or "Astronomy" or "Computer Science" or "Engineering and Computer Science" or "Computer Engineering" or "Mathematics";


• a PhD in "Physics" or "Astronomy" or "Computer Science" or "Engineering and Computer Science" or "Computer Engineering" or "Mathematics", or documented experience, of at least three years' duration, gained at Universities, Institutes, Organizations or Research Centers or other qualified bodies, public or private.


• The applicants must have started the procedure of "Equivalenza" at the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR) if their titles have not been obtained in Italy. This means collecting the documents and the compiling the modules provided here. Please, attach these modules and also a document ("autodichiarazione") where you declare that you have started the "Procedura per l'equivalenza del titolo" to your application. Note that only the winners will have to finalize the procedure with the MUR;


• Candidates wishing to participate to this call must be: a) Italian citizens or citizens of a Member State of the European Union; or b) family members of citizens of Member States of the European Union who are not citizens of a Member State but who have the right of residence or permanent residence; or c) third-country nationals who hold a residence permit issued by the European Union to long-term residents or who have refugee or subsidiary protection status, pursuant to Article 38 of Legislative Decree No. 165 of March 30, 2001, as amended by Article 7 of Law No. 97 of August 6, 2013.
  
  While we strongly disagree with this last requirement, unfortunately, we cannot remove it, as this is set by the Italian law. To clarify its meaning: this requirement will exclude non-EU applicants who do not already possess a residence permit to stay in Italy (or EU) for at least 5 years. More info about the "EU long-term residence permit" can be found here.

Application instructions

The platform for submitting the application is the following: https://pica.cineca.it/en/login. Italian citizens can access it using the SPID, while the other applicants can login either with eIDAS or by proceeding with a "New registration". The platform is in Italian, but you can use the option of translating it to English in Google Chrome, for instance. For any doubt, please write to inafirabo@pcert.postecert.it.

You must select "codice concorso" 2026INAFRIC/IRA/DARKER/002 (Profile “Dark Matter”) or 2026INAFRIC/IRA/DARKER/003 (Profile “Hubble Tension”). Please note that you can apply to both profiles, but you must go through two separate applications (one for each profile).

The application must be compiled in all its parts, under penalty of exclusion. Fill all of the inputs.

You must include in the application a copy of a valid legal identification document (Identity card or Passport)

You can save the application as a "draft" until the deadline (11th May, 2026 at 11pm CEST), but you cannot withdraw it once submitted.

If you do not possess the so-called "Firma digitale", you should print out the complete PDF of your application generated by the system, and sign it with an autograph signature (by hand), in a full and legible form. Then, upload the scanned version of this signed document to the IT application, attaching a valid legal identification document (Identity card or Passport).

In your application the following items must be clearly stated: name, surname, place and date of birth, residence address, tax code (codice fiscale); citizenship. You should declare that you possess the eligibility requirements (see the titles above). Include a declaration that you have started the "Procedura per l'equivalenza del titolo" to your application (see section above). Note only the winners will have to finalize the procedure with the MUR. If you do not hold a PhD, but you have 3 years of research experience, you must state the relevant time periods and the Universities, Institutes, Research Organizations or Centers or other qualified public and private bodies, including foreign ones, where the 3-years experience was obtained.

The application must also contain:
a) a research statement explaing the research activities, achievements and future plans (as described in Art. 9 comma 4a of the call);
b) a document listing of all the papers of the candidate (first authored and co-authored, licences, software release etc; as requested by Art. 9 comma 4b of the call);
c) a selection by the candidate of three papers/licences/software release (preferably first authored/leading), which will be considered the "products" as described in Art. 9 comma 4c of the call.

You have to state that you possess a good knowledge of English and and adequate knowledge of the Italian language (please state this! Otherwise you will excluded from the selection process; this declaration must be made only by foreign citizens).

The CV should be put into a Europass format. An Overleaf template can be found here.

Attach a declaration with authograph signature of all the qualifications (MSc degree, PhD degree etc.) that you want to be assessed by the Evaluation Committee.

Provide a valid email address (your personal or institutional email addresses) in case it's necessary to contact you.

We do not request reference letters.

Interview

The date, time and link for the interview will be announced at least 20 days in advance to the e-mail address provided in the application.
Before starting the interview, we will need you to show your Identity card or Passport. Please, keep it handy.

The interview of the Profile "Dark Matter" (2026INAFRIC/IRA/DARKER/002) will focus on a) Small-scale challenges to LambdaCDM paradigm; b) Strong gravitational lensing; c) AGN variability (multi-wavelength) and tools to study it: d) Big data and computational approaches.
The interview of the Profile "Hubble tension" (2026INAFRIC/IRA/DARKER/003) will focus on a) Hubble parameter and the “Hubble tension”; b) Strong gravitational lensing; c) Quasars’ variability and light curves in the optical band in general; d) Big data and computational approaches.

Compensation, starting date and other info

The four post-docs consist of 30 months fixed-term research positions, with employee rights and employee-funded retirement savings plan, with a gross annual salary of approximately 70 000 euros. This is a high-end salary considering the costs for living in Bologna and its surrounding area (see this page for more info about Bologna and INAF-IRA). There is the possibility to work remotely up to a maximum of 49 per cent of the time. We expect the post-docs to be present (in person) at the weekly group and individual meetings.

The post-doc positions can be started as early as Summer 2026 and on September 1st, 2026 at the latest.
The applications and the interviews will be evaluated by a committee of three INAF researchers. Please see Articolo 9 of the call for the evaluation criteria (https://info.ira.inaf.it/opportunities/).

The positions offer access to state-of-the-art computing facilities, close supervision, possibility to mentor PhD and MSc students, and a vibrant international research environment with neighboring research groups at the University of Bologna and INAF-OAS working on cosmology and strong gravitational lensing.