ESO Fellowship Programme Europe 2026​/2027

Are you interested in working in areas of frontline technology and in a stimulating international environment? Do you feel your profile matches our requirements? Learn more about our current vacancies and apply online.

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The European Southern Observatory (ESO) invites applications for the ESO Fellowship Programme 2026/2027. The Programme is designed to help early career scientists to develop their independent research programmes and successfully reach the next step of their scientific careers by:

• Developing their scientific profiles benefiting from a rich and structured scientific environment where they can interact with more senior scientists.
• Becoming mature and independent researchers who will develop their own research projects and contribute effectively to collaborative scientific endeavours.
• Getting prepared to take on higher scientific, technical or supervisory/managerial responsibilities in future positions.
• Developing their understanding of instrumental and observational techniques through supporting observatory operations to improve their scientific understanding and prepare for a future career in observational astronomy.

Fellowships are available both at ESO's Headquarters in Garching near Munich, Germany, and at ESO's astronomy centre in Santiago, Chile. ESO Fellows are expected to actively participate in ESO's scientific life by proposing and contributing to the organisation of scientific workshops, co-supervising PhD students, coordinating thematic research groups, joining scientific committees, organising seminars, writing competitive grant and telescope proposals, among other activities.

The ESO Headquarters is situated in Garching near Munich, within the campus of the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and several Max-Planck institutes, all together forming an active research centre that boasts one of the highest concentrations of astronomers in Europe. High-calibre scientists, instrument experts, and other professionals are all within easy reach, providing fellows with valuable opportunities to start collaborations and learn new skills.

On the Garching campus, ESO also participates in the ORIGINS Cluster, which gathers nearly 200 scientists, and the IMPRS Programme for PhD students. For a list of current ESO staff and fellows, and their research interests please see the ESO scientist page in Garching http://(Sie können sich bewerben oder uns per E-Mail kontaktieren in dem Sie die untenstehende Online-Bewerbungsbox verwenden) .

The ESO Vitacura Office, in Santiago, is where ESO Fellows have the possibility to interact with Instrument and System Scientists, and Science Operations Managers from Paranal, ALMA, and La Silla. There is also a continuous flow of visiting astronomers and observers that allows stimulating scientific interactions with the international community. ESO Chile is an excellent place to increase collaborations with the Chilean astronomical community, with Santiago being host to a large number of ever-growing astronomy departments.

This is in addition to the astronomy communities at other international observatories located in the country. The Joint ALMA Observatory is also located on ESO's Vitacura campus, further enhancing the scientific environment available to ESO Chile Fellows. For a list of current ESO-Chile astronomers and their research interests, please see the ESO scientist page in Chile. http://.html

ESO Fellowships in Chile are granted for four years. During the first three years, the Fellows are assigned duties within one of the Science Operation groups of Paranal or ALMA, where they contribute to observatory operations at a level of 80 nights per year, corresponding to 50% of their working time. Fellows with duties at ALMA will have opportunities to participate in ALMA operations at both the Joint Alma Observatory in Santiago and at the Operations Support Facility near San Pedro de Atacama, including observing at the telescope, data processing and analysis, software testing, serving as technical experts in the ALMA proposal review process, and developing new capabilities for the array.

Visits to and duties at the ESO ALMA Regional Center at the ESO Headquarters in Munich are also possible. At Paranal, Fellows act as support astronomers, executing service-mode observations or helping visiting astronomers to achieve their scientific goals. They are also expected to join an Instrument Operations Team. In the role of Instrument Fellow, they gain an in-depth knowledge of various aspects of a given instrument such as engineering and technological characteristics, specific operational aspects, and data quality.

In these environments, ESO-Chile Fellows can develop useful skills in project management, team coordination, and communication in a multi-disciplinary environment. Exploiting this unique mix of technical knowledge and their close contact with the science carried out at the…