Postdoc Applications Open
The Rhodes University Centre for Radio Astronomy Techniques & Technologies (RATT), together with the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO), invites applications for a postdoctoral fellowship in coordinating the scientific exploitation of the TART Africa network.
The Transient Array Radio Telescope (TART) is an open-source radio telescope project led by the Electronics Research Foundation (ERF), New Zealand. ERF, RATT and SARAO, supported by the Development in Africa with Radio Astronomy (DARA) programme, have facilitated deployments of TARTs across Africa, establishing the TART Africa network. The Breakthrough Listen project has offered support for further deployments across Africa, while SARAO is targeting the expansion of the TART network across South African universities. We therefore expect the network to keep expanding across Africa, providing opportunities for pan-African scientific collaboration, student training and citizen science.
We are looking to appoint a postdoctoral fellow who will be tasked with coordinating this effort. Activities and duties of the fellow will include the development and execution of scientific programs with existing TARTs, coordination and promotion of collaboration within the TART Africa network, coordination of graduate student projects and dissemination of project proposals within the TART network, organisation of training and science workshops, development of an outreach programme centred on the TARTs, and other efforts.
The post-doctoral fellowship could be hosted at Rhodes University or SARAO’s Cape Town offices.
The value of the fellowships is fixed at the standard SARAO post-doctoral bursary level, which (as of 2026) is ZAR R478,826, tax-free, and adjusted for inflation annually. Additional equipment and travel funding will be available. The appointment is for two years, with a one-year extension subject to satisfactory progress.
Interested candidates should submit:
- a CV, bibliography,
- a brief summary of research,
- and ask for three letters of recommendation to be sent separately by 15 April 2026.
Applications will start to be considered from that date until the positions are filled. Inquiries, applications and letters of recommendation should be sent to applications@ratt.center.
For further information on the TART, RATT and SARAO, see: