Postdoctoral Researcher; GW Optics ETpathfinder Smart Skills Lab

Are you interested in technology and techniques which allow us to observe black holes colliding a million light years out in the cosmos? We are looking for a postdoc to work on the cross section of research, education and collaboration with industry and join the ETpathfinder Smart Skills Lab project.
ETpathfinder is a field laboratory for research, development and validation of new technologies for the Einstein Telescope. Based on a full interferometer configuration ETpathfinder aims to perform length measurements at the level of a thousandths of a proto diameter, which requires going beyond the state of art in a variety of fields including optics, sensors, lasers, materials, cryogenic cooling, vibration damping, vacuum and controls.

The ETpathfinder Smart Skills lab is a new initiative with the aim of providing training to companies and industry partners in ETpathfinder related technologies and skills. These skill trainings will be offered in particular to small and medium enterprises (SME) in Flanders and the south of the Netherlands (Limburg and Noord Brabant). The ETpathfinder Smart Skills lab is an initiative of 17 academic and educational partners from the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.

• You would join a cohort of 11 ETpathfinder Technology Experts who will initially work for 12 months with the ETpathfinder team to get trained in the ETpathfinder facility erwards you will develop training modules and deliver them (online & practical) to SMEs.
• You will work in close collaboration with the ETpathfinder team (consisting of more than 20 research institutes and universities from 7 countries) and the ETpathfinder Smart Skills Lab team.
• The location of this full‑time job is in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, Ghent University, Proeftuinstraat 86, 9000 Ghent Belgium. You will be expected to spend a significant fraction of your time at the ETpathfinder facility in Maastricht (Maastricht University, Duboisdomein 30, Maastricht, the Netherlands).
• Your research focus will be on optics
  , which is also the primary commitment of Ghent University towards the ETpathfinder project.

• PhD degree in physics or a related field (essential)
• Proficient in English language and good communication skills (essential)
• You can work independently (essential)
• You are flexible in collaboration with others (essential)
• Experience in research relevant for gravitational wave instrumentation (desirable)
• Experience in education and outreach (desirable)

We offer a challenging and varied job in an innovative and international environment as a 1+1 year full‑time employment contract as postdoctoral researcher
. Intended start date is 01 April 2026, which can be delayed if necessary.

Ghent University

Ghent University (UGent) is a premier university in Belgium founded in 1817. It offers more than 200 study programmes and conducts in‑depth research within a wide range of scientific domains. Employing more than 15,000 people, it is actively involved in education and research, management and administration, as well as technical and social service provision daily. It has 11 faculties and more than 80 departments grounded in research in a wide range of academic fields.

Our credo is “Dare to Think”.

The Faculty of Sciences currently consists of 12 departments spread over mathematical and physical sciences, chemistry, biology, geology, and geography. It positions itself as an international knowledge hub in the natural sciences focused on groundbreaking and independent research and future‑proof education. Our vision is to connect scientists with society, foster sustainable change, and create impactful innovations. Our motto, “Innovation Starts with Science(s)”, reflects this ambition.

The Ghent Gravity Group carries out research in gravitational waves. Members of the group are involved with Virgo instrumentation, LIGO‑Virgo‑KAGRA data analysis, and Observational Science with the Einstein Telescope. Ghent University is a founding partner of the ETPathfinder project, and members of the group take part in the instrumentation developments related to this facility in…