PhD positions in Solar Flare Physics at the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW)

The heliophysics group of the Institute of Data Science at the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW) is announcing the opening of two PhD positions (4 years each) starting in fall 2026 or later. The positions are associated with the Swiss National Science Foundation projects “STIX: Solar Max Science” and “Solar Orbiter Flare Campaign: Fragmented Energy Release”. The two projects will exploit the recently obtained observations from ESA’s Solar Orbiter mission to investigate the physics of solar flares from an observational point of view. In addition, the position gives the opportunity to work within the Solar Orbiter STIX team on instrument operation and calibration. The PhD candidates will enroll at ETH Zürich for their PhD degree.

Requirements:
* MSc (or equivalent) in physics, space physics, astrophysics, or a related discipline
* Strong interest in data science and data analysis
* Enthusiasm for space related topics
* Team-player
* Fluent in English

Please send your application package to Säm Krucker ([email protected]) by email using the subject line ‘STIX PhD’ containing the following documents:
* CV (please inform yourself about the format of CVs used in Switzerland)
* Motivation letter (please indicate if you used the help of AI or not, and justify your choice)
* A link to your Master thesis (or pdf)
* Contact details of two references (no letters are needed at this stage)

Please inform yourself about Swiss labor laws.

Applications are due by 15^th July 2026.