Astrobiology Job Market
Below, open positions are listed that have been forwarded by an EANA member. Additional job offers can be found for example at:

  1. Internal Research Fellow in Planetary Protection at ESA
    This fellowship aims to advance the development of a risk-informed decision culture at ESA and application of probabilistic frameworks in the planetary protection domain. The overall goal is to support ESA planetary protection function on its effort to modernise current approaches with the use of new statistical models to assess biological and chemical contamination risks.

    The Research Fellow in Planetary Protection primary role is to develop mathematical frameworks to be used for modelling the probability to 1) transfer harmful contamination to solar system bodies for robotic or crewed missions (or a combination of both); 2) transfer harmful contamination from outer space to Earth.

    As an internal researcher, the candidate will perform research activities exploring new ways or expanding the scope of existing studies to promote the use of risk-informed decision frameworks, prediction models, AI applied to planetary protection.

    Workplace: Noordwijk, NL

    Application deadline: 2026-04-03
    Webpage: https://jobs.esa.int/job/Noordwijk-Internal-Research-Fellow-in-Planetary-Protection/1370985933/?from=email&refid=22141274701&utm_source=J2WEma


  2. Postdoc and PhD Student positions on "The Origin and Evolution of Prions" available soon
    At the Laboratory of Space Biology and Astrobiology at AGH University of Krakow, we investigate one of the most fundamental questions in science: the molecular origins of life. Our NCN OPUS project, “The Origin and Evolution of Prions,” explores the
    provocative hypothesis that prion-like proteins may have served as ancient carriers of heritable information, long before the emergence of modern genetic systems.

    The project combines molecular biology and microbial genetics, structural and biophysical characterization of protein aggregates, stress adaptation and inheritance assays, and evolutionary and bioinformatic analyses including phylogenetics. The project also includes research visits to collaborating institutions, including NASA Ames Research Center and Stanford University.

    Postdoctoral Position: a motivated and independent postdoctoral researcher to lead experimental and analytical work at the intersection of molecular evolution, protein aggregation, prion biology, and astrobiology.

    PhD Student position: the doctoral project will involve experimental and computational approaches to identify and characterize ancient prion-like proteins and their functional roles in microbial stress adaptation and inheritance.
    Webpage: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dK4XhOBoWnCtLNamLXVteP6e4ABLTCJ8/view?usp=sharing
    Contact: tzajkowski@agh.edu.pl