Four post-doctoral positions within the FIS2-MUR Starting Grant DARKER

The DARKER project aims at investigating at high precision the nature of dark matter and the origin of the "Hubble tension" by finding a large number of strong lensing systems in the time domain. The lens search will be primarily conducted using the long-term Fermi-LAT and Gaia monitoring programs.
The four post-docs will join the group of Dr. Cristiana Spingola and will focus their research respectively on:

• the search for low-mass strong lenses in the Fermi-LAT database to test the nature of dark matter (2 post-docs, 2026INAFRIC/IRA/DARKER/002)
• the search for a statistically significant sample of variable strong lenses (galaxy and galaxy-cluster scales) in the Gaia dataset to shed light on the Hubble tension (2 post-docs, 2026INAFRIC/IRA/DARKER/003)

We are looking for highly motivated post-docs, possibly with a strong background in gravitational lensing and high performance computing. Previous experience in AGN variability, analysis of Fermi-LAT and/or Gaia data, signal processing and observational cosmology will be considered a significant asset.

The successful candidates will benefit from a highly collaborative and vibrant international research environment, with neighboring research groups at the University of Bologna and INAF-OAS working on cosmology and strong gravitational lensing. The positions offer access to state-of-the-art computing facilities, close supervision, possibility to mentor PhD and MSc students.

The post-docs are 2.5 years appointments, with a gross annual salary of 72 000 euros, expected to begin in Summer 2026 (with the latest possible date being September 1st, 2026).

English version of the requirements, eligibility criteria and details about the application procedure. 
The official call for applications ("Bando").