University of Amsterdam
Institution: University of Amsterdam (UvA) – Faculty of Science
Degree Level: Master’s completed
Closing Date: June 30, 2026
Salary: €3,059 – €3,881 gross per month
About the Position
Are you eager to push optical atomic clocks to new levels in a lively, international research group? Do you enjoy creating complex machines that have never existed before? Do you want to explore physics that nobody else has seen?
Join the Ultracold Strontium Group at the Institute of Physics as a PhD student on our exciting journey towards superradiant and zero-deadtime clocks.
Project Background
- Optical clocks now achieve precision better than 10-18, allowing detection of relativistic time dilation by just 1 cm of height in Earth’s gravitational field.
- Current clocks operate in a pulsed manner, taking several hours for sufficient averaging.
- The project aims to create continuous optical clocks, enabling ultimate precision in minutes:
- Superradiant clock: a laser lasing on an ultranarrow optical transition
- Zero-deadtime clock: continuous atomic supply to four clock interrogation zones
PhD students will contribute to both clock efforts.
Responsibilities
- Experimental work: debugging, data collection, and machine upgrades
- Data analysis, literature research, and article writing
- Participate in group activities: education of BSc/MSc students, presentations, and societal outreach
Candidate Profile
- Recent master’s degree in experimental ultracold atom or trapped ion physics
- Excellent teamwork skills, initiative, and time management
- Strong oral and written English communication skills
- Excited to push ultracold atom experiments to new realms of AMO physics
Employment Details
- Contract: Temporary, 38 hours per week, duration 4 years
- Initial 18 months, extendable to 4 years after satisfactory evaluation
- Preferred start date: to be discussed
- Salary: €3,059 – €3,881 gross per month (Scale P), excluding 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% year-end allowance
- Educational plan includes courses, international meetings, and teaching undergraduates/MSc students
- UFO profile PhD candidate, Collective Labour Agreement of Universities of the Netherlands applies
- Favorable tax agreement (‘30% ruling’) may apply to non-Dutch applicants
Work Environment
- Faculty of Science: ~8,000 students, 1,800 staff
- Institute of Physics (IoP): combines WZI, ITFA, IHEF; large research institute
- Van der Waals-Zeeman Institute (IoP-WZI): home to Quantum Gases & Quantum Information, Quantum Materials, and Soft Matter clusters
- Strontium Quantum Gases Group headed by Prof. Dr. Florian Schreck
- Embedded in Quantum Delta NL Ultracold Atom Quantum Sensing Testbed with collaboration opportunities for clocks, interferometers, quantum simulation, and optical tweezer arrays
Application Procedure
Applications accepted until the position is filled. Include the following (all non-CV files combined into a single PDF):
- Detailed CV (months and years of education/work experience)
- Motivation letter
- List of publications
- Names and emails of 2 references (letters not required at this stage)
Knowledge security check may be part of the selection process (national guidelines).
Application contact:
Prof. Dr. Florian Schreck – [email protected]
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
- UvA maintains an equal opportunities policy
- Committed to a diverse, inclusive, and welcoming environment
- Encourages applicants even if they do not meet 100% of requested experience