Postdoctoral Scholar - PIONEER
Position Overview
Organization: Physics
Title: Postdoctoral Scholar - PIONEER
Position Details
Position Description
Postdoctoral Scholar on the PIONEER Experiment
The Department of Physics at the University of Washington invites applications for a post-doctoral scholar position starting in Winter 2026. This position offers a unique opportunity to contribute to forefront research at the Center for Nuclear Physics and Astrophysics (CENPA) in alignment with the NSAC 2023 Long Range Plan for Nuclear Science. The successful candidate will join a vibrant research environment on the UW Seattle campus, collaborating closely with scientists, engineers, technicians, and students at CENPA.
This position is primarily associated with the PIONEER experiment, a next-generation rare pion decay spectrometer, which aims to test flavor universality up to the PeV scale. The University of Washington’s group, led by Quentin Buat, David Hertzog and Peter Kammel, is developing the active target and the calorimeter, employing cutting edge detector technologies (LGADs & LYSO) and fast electronics. Our team also carries a host of simulations to prototype the experiment and develop the event reconstruction of the experiment.
The base salary range for this position will be $5705–$6500 per month, commensurate with experience and qualifications.
The position is a full-time, 12-month (one-year) appointment, which may be extended (upon successful performance), subject to funding and mutual agreement. The Postdoctoral Scholar title is limited to five years, including postdoctoral experience(s) at UW and other institutions.
Postdoctoral Scholars are represented by UAW 4121 and are subject to the collective bargaining agreement, unless agreed exclusion criteria apply. For more information, please visit the University of Washington Labor Relations website.
About CENPA
CENPA is a DOE Office of Nuclear Physics Center of Excellence, dedicated to advancing research in fundamental symmetries and neutrinos with an emphasis on discovering physics beyond the Standard Model. The Center hosts a broad program including LEGEND, He6-CRES, Project 8, Selena, PIONEER, and others. Our professional engineering and technical teams provide world-class expertise in instrumentation, prototyping, detector development, and experiment execution. For more information about CENPA and its research programs, please see the CENPA Annual Reports.
Qualifications
The successful applicant should have a Ph.D., or foreign equivalent, by the time they start at the University of Washington.
Instructions
Applications should be submitted in Interfolio and consist of a cover letter, a CV with list of publications, a research statement, and three letters of recommendation. Applications received by December 15, 2025, will receive full consideration. For questions about the position, please contact Prof. Quentin Buat (qbuat@uw.edu).
Equal Employment Opportunity Statement
University of Washington is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, genetic information, gender identity or expression, age, disability, or protected veteran status.
Benefits Information
A summary of benefits associated with this title/rank can be found at https://hr.uw.edu/benefits/benefits-orientation/benefit-summary-pdfs/. Appointees solely employed and paid directly by a non-UW entity are not UW employees and are not eligible for UW or Washington State employee benefits.
Commitment to Diversity
The University of Washington is committed to building diversity among its faculty, librarian, staff, and student communities, and articulates that commitment in the UW Diversity Blueprint (http://www.washington.edu/diversity/diversity-blueprint/). Additionally, the University’s Faculty Code recognizes faculty efforts in research, teaching and/or service that address diversity and equal opportunity as important contributions to a faculty member’s academic profile and responsibilities (https://www.washington.edu/admin/rules/policies/FCG/FCCH24.html#2432).
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Disability Services
To request disability accommodation in the application process, contact the Disability Services Office at 206-543-6450 or dso@uw.edu.