Profile Required

Holders of a doctorate or a PhD or equivalent degree or applicants who have gained scientific qualifications or carried out scientific work deemed to be of an equivalent level.There is no restriction on the age or nationality of applicants. All CNRS positions are accessible to people with disabilities, with special arrangements for tests made necessary by the nature of the disability

Institution Strategy

The recruitment of researchers with a strong involvement in the organisation and management of permanent observation systems for the universe and planet Earth is a major challenge for CNRS and academic research. On a planet whose habitability is now under threat from global change and anthropogenic pressure, understanding the mechanisms of formation and evolution of the Universe and planets, and the emergence of life, particularly those that determine the habitability of worlds, is a prerequisite. This understanding is based on the availability and sharing of research data, most of which must be acquired through continuous, long-term observation of natural and man-made environments, a sine qua non for science-informed political decisions. As the leading player in research and observation for research that documents the processes of formation of the universe and planets, as well as global change, CNRS designs and manages numerous national and international research infrastructures (IR/IR*). These infrastructures are supported by the National Observation Services (SNO) accredited by INSU.
For CNRS-INSU, the CPJs are a remarkable opportunity to recruit, on the basis of national forecasts, scientists in charge of the development and management of SNO and IR/IR* dedicated to the observation of the Universe and the Earth, in close collaboration with the Universities in which the members of the CNAP corps carry out their missions via the OSU.

Host Lab Strategy

Each of the Grands Établissements and OSUs partners is involved in the preparation of the SKA project (the largest radio observatory in the world) in France, through a significant investment in the coordination actions led by SKA-France since 2016. This recruitment aims to consolidate their leadership in the field.

International Strategy

With 16 partner countries, SKAO is the second inter-governmental organisation for ground-based astronomy. France has decided to join in 2020. With its two telescopes in South Africa and Australia, SKAO will be the most sensitive radio observatory ever built. It will cover vast areas of astrophysical and cosmological research, with a worldwide community of hundreds of researchers preparing for the beginning of SKAO science exploitation (2026-2027). The project therefore provides a rich pool of researchers who fall within the core target of the CPJ scheme.
The aim of this recruitment is to significantly strengthen the French participation in the exploitation of the SKA project and its precursor and pathfinder instruments, at a time when radio astronomy, thanks to recent/ongoing instrumental developments at world level, is a field that will lead to the greatest discoveries of the next 10 years and therefore revolutionise our understanding of the Universe.

National Directory of Research Structures (RNSR) of the host laboratory

UAR2201, Observatoire de Paris, LUX, LIRA, LPENS Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (RNSR : 200610854B)
UMR7550, ObAS Observatoire Astronomique de Strasbourg (RNSR : 199712602R)
UMR7293, LAGRANGE Observatoire de la Cote d’Azur (RNSR : 201220431K)
UMR5804, LAB Université de Bordeaux, OASU (RNSR : 199712084C)
UMR7328, LPC2E Université d’Orléans, OSUC (RNSR : 201220223J)
UAR2033, OSUPS, AIM, IAS Observatoire des Sciences de l'Université Paris-Saclay (RNSR : 202324364M)

Summary of the scientific project

SKAO will allow the research community to address vast areas of astrophysics, cosmology and fundamental physics: the cosmic dawn, magnetic fields from galaxies to planets, gravitational waves, planetology and the origin of life, to name just a few examples. In some areas, SKAO alone will be capable of making decisive progress; in others, it will provide essential complementary information with respect to other major modern observatories.
At a key moment in France's participation in SKAO (launch of the 'Key Science Projects' from 2026 and the urgent need to set up the French SKA Regional Centre for archiving and exploiting data), the aim of the SKA-FORCE junior professorship is to consolidate and strengthen France's position in this global project by recruiting an experienced/confirmed researcher. The candidate will have to propose an ambitious programme in the areas of research in which SKAO will enable major advances to be made.

Summary of the teaching project

In agreement with the Grand Établissement partenaire or the Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers which will host the Chair, the teaching service will be fully converted into a national observation service for the ANO2-ANO3 SKATE or, for specific developments at the SKA Regional Centre, of the ANO5 CDS, labelled by the CNRS-INSU. This service will be equivalent to a full teaching discharge. At the end of the contract period, the candidate will be appointed to the post of Research Director at CNRS-INSU.

Financial Environment

• Total (included package ANR) : 200 k€
• Total financement : k€

Scientific dissemination

The dissemination of the results will be done through world-class scientific productions: publications, patents, software... In addition, the results will be communicated to various targets such as scientific communities, media, decision makers, general public, schools, etc., with an adapted calendar. Specific tools may be developed such as websites, newsletters, meetings, international symposia, summer schools and conferences.

Open Science

The CNRS is developing a strong policy in favor of open science. Open science consists of making research results "as accessible as possible and closed as necessary". As such, the CNRS aims to make 100% of the texts of publications resulting from the work of its laboratories accessible , in particular through deposit in HAL. The data produced must also be made available and reusable, except for specific restrictions. In addition, the guiding principles of individual evaluation have been revised in accordance with the DORA declaration, to be more qualitative and to take into account all facets of the researcher's profession.

Science and society

The relationship between science and society is now recognized as a full dimension of scientific activity. The project will develop this dimension in synergy with all the partners. The resulting research work will contribute to informing public decision-making. Participatory science initiatives may be initiated with actors from the project’s socio-economic and cultural eco-system.

Indicators

The activity will be evaluated in particular on the basis of scientific production (publications, software, patents, etc.), on institutional and private partnerships formalized by contracts, on international presence, on the promotion of work to multidisciplinary scientific communities, on innovation and its transfer to society and on scientific dissemination to non-specialist audiences.

Methods of organization of the interviews

Only the candidates selected on file by the selection committee will be invited to the auditions.