The Max Planck Fellowship Program

The Max Planck Society has established a fellowship program for foreign post-doctoral researchers. Outstanding abroad scientists are invited to apply and spend up to two years at the Albert Einstein Institute in Potsdam.

The Albert Einstein Institute

The Albert Einstein Institute (AEI) offers a stimulating and dynamic research environment with broad opportunities for junior scientists. The institute is one of the world's leading centers for gravitational physics, and it is unique in the breadth and depth of its approach to the subject. Scientists at the AEI focus on all aspects of Einstein's theory of general relativity. Their research ranges from geometrical and analytical aspects of the theory to the unification of general relativity and quantum mechanics all the way to the modeling, data analysis, and astrophysics of gravitational waves. It also covers experimental approaches and techniques required to open a new window to the Universe and to test predictions of general relativity.

General information

Each year the AEI will grant a limited number of Max Planck fellowships to outstanding foreign post-doctoral scientists who wish to spend up to two years at the institute. 


The Max Planck fellowship program offers three different stipends, depending on research track-record and achievements (net monthly stipend of €2,500, €3,000 or €3,600) plus some benefits and travel costs and subsidy cost of baggage allowance reimbursements for the journey to our institute.

Application information

Candidates interested in Max Planck fellowships should fill out a form (which is different depending on the AEI department they plan to be associated to, please see below) and upload a cover letter, curriculum vitae, list of publications, and statement of past, current and future research interests. Electronic Portable Document Format (PDF) submittals are strongly preferred. Applicants would need to indicate the names of three referees for recommendation letters. Referees will be notified by email on how to upload the letters.

The Max Planck Society is committed to increase the number of women and individuals with disabilities in its workforce in areas where they are under-represented. Thus, it encourages applications from such qualified individuals.

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Astrophysical and Cosmological Relativity Department (Potsdam)

Gravitational-wave astronomy is moving from discovery to precision science. The Astrophysical and Cosmological Relativity (ACR) department at the Albert Einstein Institute (AEI) in Potsdam works across the full chain of that transition — from first-principles modeling of strong-field gravity, through numerical relativity, to the analysis and interpretation of data from LIGO, Virgo and KAGRA today, and from Einstein Telescope, Cosmic Explorer and LISA in the decade ahead.

We are looking for creative, highly motivated researchers who work equally well independently and within a large, interdisciplinary group.

The department

Led by Alessandra Buonanno, ACR comprises about 45 scientists, including three permanent research group leaders — Jonathan Gair, Harald Pfeiffer and Jan Steinhoff. The department hosts a steady flow of long- and short-term visitors and maintains close ties with the Department of Physics at the University of Maryland, Humboldt University of Berlin and the University of Potsdam.

Research areas

• Analytical modeling of gravitational dynamics and radiation: effective field theory, post-Newtonian and post-Minkowskian expansions, gravitational self-force, black-hole perturbation theory and the effective-one-body formalism.
• Numerical relativity: vacuum simulations of compact objects on bound and unbound orbits, in general relativity and in alternative theories of gravity.
• Observation and interpretation of gravitational-wave data from ground-based (LIGO, Virgo, KAGRA, Cosmic Explorer, Einstein Telescope) and space-based (LISA) detectors, including searches and detector characterization.
• Acceleration of gravitational-wave inference, including machine-learning methods.
• Astrophysics of compact objects and binary formation scenarios.
• Cosmography with gravitational waves: dark energy, dark matter and gravitational lensing.
• Tests of gravity in the strong-field and highly dynamical regime.

Collaborations

ACR participates in the Simulating eXtreme Spacetimes (SXS) Collaboration, the LIGO Scientific Collaboration, the Einstein Telescope Collaboration, the LISA Consortium, and the LISA Distributed Data Processing Centre, where the department leads waveform generation and the global-fit deep analysis.

Computing

The department operates Urania, a high-performance cluster with ~6,050 cores; Hypatia, a high-throughput cluster with ~12,000 cores; and two GPU servers, Saraswati and Lakshmi, each with eight NVIDIA A100 GPUs. Both clusters are currently being extended. They support numerical-relativity simulations of gravitational-wave sources as well as source-modeling and data-analysis studies for current and future detectors.

How to apply

Applications are submitted through our job portal here. Please upload:

• a cover letter;
• a curriculum vitae;
• a list of publications;
• a statement of past and future research, no longer than three pages excluding references.

You will also be asked to name three referees. Please register with our job portal and enter your referees‘ contact details well in advance of the deadline: referees receive an email with upload instructions, and letters must arrive by the deadline to be considered. For technical problems with the application form, write to jobs@aei.mpg.de.

Dates

• Deadline for full consideration: 23 November 2026, including receipt of reference letters.
• Anticipated start date: Fall 2027.

Candidates are encouraged to apply as early as possible. Applications will be considered until all positions are filled.

Equal opportunity, diversity and family support

The Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics is an equal opportunity employer, and is committed to providing employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, gender identity, sexual orientation or national origin. The Max Planck Society is committed to increasing the number of individuals with disabilities in its workforce and therefore encourages applications from such qualified individuals. Our institute and the Max Planck Society welcome persons with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and ideas who embrace and value diversity and inclusion (Code of Conduct). The institute promotes a healthy work-life balance by offering all employees a family support service, cooperation with a nearby international kindergarten, as well as an in-house parent-child office and nursing room.

Contact

For further information, please write to acr-jobs@aei.mpg.de.