Postdoctoral Fellow in Prebiotic Chemistry at Planetary Interfaces

The Paul Scherrer Institute PSI is the largest research institute for natural and engineering sciences within Switzerland. We perform cutting-edge research in the fields of future technologies, energy and climate, health innovation and fundamentals of nature. By performing fundamental and applied research, we work on sustainable solutions for major challenges facing society, science and economy. PSI is committed to the training of future generations. Therefore, about one quarter of our staff are post-docs, post-graduates or apprentices. Altogether, PSI employs 2300 people. 

The National Centre of Competence in Research NCCR Genesis is a research infrastructure project funded by SNSF focusing on exploring the emergence of life in the Universe. This interdisciplinary research infrastructure brings together physicists, earth and planetary scientists, chemists and biologists to understand the conditions and the mechanisms that enable life to emerge. Developing reliable methods to detect reliable traces of life (biosignatures), whether through remote sensing or direct onsite measurements, requires significant innovation. These challenges demand close collaboration across physics, biology, chemistry, and the earth sciences. NCCR Genesis does not aim to provide answers in all fields, but to drive innovative research and achieve decisive progress. 

Details on NCCR Genesis are available on its website . 

NCCR Genesis is deeply committed to equality, diversity and inclusion. Our aim is to cultivate a respectful and fair work culture with equal access to professional development and support for all. We strongly encourage applications from under-represented groups. 

The position focuses on developing reactors and carrying out experiments to determine how interfaces and different energy sources drive chemical complexity and the formation of prebiotic molecules under planetary analogue conditions. The project is jointly led by Andras Bödi and Patrick Hemberger at PSI and Paolo A. Sossi at ETH Zurich, with additional collaboration at EPFL and across the NCCR Genesis network. 

For the Reaction Dynamics Group at the Swiss Light Source, we are looking for a

Postdoctoral Fellow in Prebiotic Chemistry at Planetary Interfaces

Your tasks

• You design, construct and commission reactors, sources and sampling interfaces for investigating chemistry under planetary analogue conditions, with particular emphasis on gas–solid interfaces, plasma chemistry, photochemistry and sulfur chemistry 
• You plan and carry out experiments using reactive gas mixtures in contact with inorganic materials relevant to the early Earth and rocky planets, investigating the formation, transformation and stability of prebiotic molecules 
• You combine reactor experiments with molecular-beam sampling, mass spectrometry and advanced photoionization methods, including PEPICO spectroscopy, to identify products and reactive intermediates that reveal reaction mechanisms 
• You develop and pursue complementary research directions in the Reaction Dynamics (PSI) and Experimental Planetology (ETHZ) groups, coordinating activities across PSI, ETH Zurich, EPFL and the wider NCCR Genesis network 
• You analyze and interpret experimental data, publish your findings in peer-reviewed journals and present your work at international conferences

Your profile

• PhD degree in chemistry, chemical engineering, physics, geochemistry, planetary sciences or a related discipline 
• Experience in designing, constructing, and operating complex experimental setups 
• Experience in one or more of the following areas: reactor development, vacuum technology, gas handling, plasma or photochemical experiments, high-temperature chemistry, mass spectrometry or advanced spectroscopy 
• Ability to translate broad scientific questions into robust experiments and to pursue parallel research directions with independence 
• Interest in interdisciplinary collaboration and the ability to work constructively across institutions and scientific disciplines

We offer

You will join an interdisciplinary research environment connecting the Reaction Dynamics Group at PSI with the Experimental Planetology group at ETH Zurich, while benefiting from close collaboration across the broader NCCR Genesis community. You will help establish new experimental capabilities for investigating how planetary environments, interfaces and energetic processes generate and transform prebiotic molecules. 

The position offers access to PSI’s advanced laboratory and large-scale research infrastructure, opportunities to establish collaborations across Switzerland and internationally, and considerable scope to shape new experimental directions in an emerging research field. 

Our institution is based on interdisciplinary, innovative and dynamic collaboration. You will profit from a motivating work environment, in addition to personal development possibilities. We will support you with modern employment conditions and on-site infrastructure to combine work and family life or other personal interests.

Your employment contract is limited to 2 years.

For further information, please contact Dr András Bödi, e-mail E-Mail auf apply.refline.ch ansehen, Dr Patrick Hemberger, e-mail E-Mail auf apply.refline.ch ansehen or Prof. Dr Paolo A. Sossi, e-mail E-Mail auf apply.refline.ch ansehen. 

Please submit your application online by 31 August 2026 (including list of publications and addresses of referees) for the position as a Postdoctoral Fellow (Index-Nr. 6413-29310).

Paul Scherrer Institut, Human Resources Management, Mariusz Prus, 5232 Villigen PSI, Schweiz