Assistant Professor in Physics

Are you ready to shape the future of research and education? At Uppsala University, your ideas matter. We welcome top talents in Science and Technology to a world-class environment driving innovation and collaboration. Push the frontiers of science. It starts with you.

Uppsala University is carrying out an excellence initiative focused on recruiting assistant professors (tenure-track) with the aim of attracting the next generation of research leaders. Do you want to be part of our internationally renowned and broad research environment in physics and astronomy? Do you want to advance your research at Sweden’s largest department in the field? We are now seeking an assistant professor who wishes to strengthen and further develop our research and education at the international forefront.

You will work within one of the research programs at the Department of Physics and Astronomy. The specific placement will be determined at the time of appointment. The appointment is a career-development position that gives you the opportunity to build independence as a researcher and teacher. To support the establishment of your research activities, the position includes a start-up package.

The Department of Physics and Astronomy is one of Uppsala University’s largest departments and is located at the Ångström Laboratory. Nearly 400 people work at the department, including around 60 professors and more than 100 doctoral students. We conduct world-leading research and education in both theoretical and experimental physics, including the development and use of large-scale infrastructures. We also collaborate extensively with external partners. Our research is organized into 14 different research programs, spanning topics from the innermost building blocks of matter through consideration of molecules and materials to the structure and development of stars and the universe.

This full spectrum is also reflected in the department’s courses and study programmes. Each year, approximately 2,500 students take undergraduate- and master’s-level courses at the department.

You can find more information about us here.

Subject area

The subject area covers the full spectrum of physics and astronomy in which the department conducts research. To build a strong research profile, it is essential that your research connects to at least one of the department’s research programmes, thereby strengthening, enhancing, and/or complementing existing activities at the international forefront. The department’s research programmes are: Applied Nuclear Physics, Chemical and Biomolecular Physics, Condensed Matter Physics of Energy Materials, High Energy Physics, Instrumentation and Accelerators, Materials Physics, Materials Theory, Nuclear Physics, Observational Astrophysics, Physics Education Research, Quantum Matter Theory, Space and Plasma Physics, Theoretical Astrophysics, and Theoretical Physics.

You find more information about our research programmes here.

Duties

You will work with:

• teaching. Teaching includes responsibility for courses, course administration, and supervision of doctoral students, in both Swedish and English. If you are not initially able to teach in Swedish, Swedish language training aimed at achieving this competence will be included in your duties.
• research. Research includes establishing and leading your own research group; publishing research results in internationally recognized peer-reviewed journals and presenting them at leading international conferences; actively applying for and securing external research funding from national and international funding agencies and/or through interdisciplinary collaborations.
• administration. To participate in the general academic duties of the Department of Physics and Astronomy. This includes serving on committees, taking on responsibilities beyond your own research and teaching assignments, contributing to the evaluation and development of teaching and research activities, working collaboratively with colleagues, and providing support and constructive feedback to colleagues.
• keeping up to date in your subject area and following developments in society that are relevant to your work at Uppsala University.
• contributing to collaboration with the wider society.
• colleagues to ensure a healthy and supportive work environment.

In choosing between eligible candidates, emphasis will primarily be given to both research and teaching expertise, according particular weight to research expertise. In addition, attention will be given to administrative and management expertise, as well as collaboration and outreach expertise.

Qualifications required

You must have:

• a PhD within Physics or Astronomy or directly related field. Preference will be given to applicants who have completed their PhD or attained equivalent expertise no more than seven years before the deadline for applications.
• research expertise in Physics and/or Astronomy. In addition to academic qualifications, research merits gained outside academia may also be taken into account, such as development of technology and capacity for innovation
• had your main employment and conducted your research activities outside Sweden for at least the past four years immediately prior to the application deadline. Shorter stays in Sweden of a total of no more than twelve months may be accepted.
• publications with high scientific impact in well-established international journals.
• documented ability to successfully compete for and secure external research funding.
• experience presenting research results at leading international conferences relevant to the field.
• documented skills and expertise in productive research collaborations and in successfully leading projects.
• a clear research connection to active research areas within at least one of the department’s 14 research programmes.
• a research plan that clearly demonstrates an independent research profile and shows how the proposed research will strengthen, enhance, and/or complement research within at least one specified research programme at the department.
• teaching expertise, according particular weight to teaching and supervision in Physics and/or Astronomy. In addition to academic qualifications, educational and teaching qualifications from other activities may also be taken into account, which include, for example, supervision, internal training or mentoring programmes. The ability to link teaching to research is important.
• a documented ability to teach in Swedish or English.
• completed at least five weeks of teacher training for higher education of relevance to the organisation and its activities or be considered to have acquired the equivalent knowledge. The required training for teachers in higher education may be completed during the first two years of employment, if there are special circumstances. 
• ability to work with other people and otherwise meet the demands of suitability required to perform the duties well.
• teaching expertise and research expertise that are relevant to the subject area and the duties that the position involves.

Other desirable/valuable qualifications

It would be an advantage if you have:

• established an independent research profile, for example through the award of substantial competitive funding, such as a start-up or establishment grant for at least three years from a university or external funding body.
• administrative expertise. Capacity to plan, organise and prioritise activities and to work in a structured manner that demonstrates an awareness of goals and quality.
• management expertise. Developing, coordinating and leading operations and staff.
• collaboration and outreach expertise. Interacting with the wider community, disseminating and exchanging information and translating research and development results into practical benefits. Popular science publications and lectures and public debate are examples of interactions with the wider community. Other examples are patent applications, commercialisation, and industry collaboration.

For more information on assessment and assessment criteria, see the Appointment Regulations for Uppsala University and the Faculty of Science and Technology’s Guidelines for the Appointment and Promotion of Teachers.

All qualifications must be documented in a manner that makes it possible to assess both their quality and their scope.

When the University appoints new academic staff, candidates will be selected based on a qualitative overall assessment of their competence and expertise, taking into account their potential to perform and develop the duties of the position and to contribute to the positive development of the department.

Application

Parental leave, part-time work due to childcare, trade union responsibilities, military service or similar activities are treated as work experience and should be listed in the CV.

Instructions for applications for employment

Period of employment 

The position of Assistant Professor is fixed-term for up to six years and is intended to provide qualifications for a permanent teaching position with higher eligibility requirements. During the appointment, there is the possibility to apply for promotion to Associate Professor. If the requirements are met and suitability is confirmed, the appointee may be promoted to a permanent position as Associate Professor.  

About the position 

Fixed-term employment for a maximum of 6 years. The scope is full-time. Starting date by agreement. Location: Uppsala 

Further information about the position please contact Head of Department Professor Richard Brenner (+46 18 471 76 16, prefekt@physics.uu.se) and programme responsible professors, see www.uu.se/physics/research

We look forward to receiving your application by 24 March 2026, UFV-PA 2026/238.

In the event of any disagreement between the English and the Swedish versions of this announcement, the Swedish version takes precedence.

We offer you

Sweden offers good working conditions, including comprehensive social benefits such as generous family-focused policies that make healthcare, childcare, and children’s education available and highly affordable. At Uppsala University, we offer the opportunity for new international staff to learn Swedish through our language courses. If you have family, they will get new contacts and support through the Uppsala International Citizen hub.

If you are an international candidate, you will find a lot of information about working and living in Sweden at http://www.uu.se/joinus.

Uppsala University’s tenure track system grants assistant professors the possibility to be assessed for promotion to the position as associate professor. The university provides support in various areas, such as scientific and educational development, leadership development as well as patent and innovation support.