Research Physicist – Gravitation, Cosmology & Astrophysics (PhD)

About the role

CritPt is a public benchmark that tests frontier AI models on genuine research‑level physics problems. We are hiring physicists to work on advanced challenges in gravitation, cosmology, or high‑energy astrophysics, producing complete written reasoning that can be independently verified.

Key responsibilities

• Create, solve, review, or audit research‑grade physics problems within a narrowly defined subfield.
• Produce detailed, reproducible reasoning and numerical results using LaTeX, Python, SymPy and Jupyter notebooks.

Required profile

• PhD in gravitation, cosmology, astroparticle physics or a closely related field (post‑doc, research scientist, junior faculty or senior PhD student).
• Verified publication record (3‑5 papers, first‑author preferred) on the specific phenomena listed (torsion, Nieh‑Yan, Chern‑Simons, or blazar jet modelling).
• Strong command of sign‑convention conventions and ability to write clear English (B2+).

Required skills

• First‑order gravity formalisms (Einstein‑Cartan‑Palatini, tetrad & spin‑connection).
• Topological terms in gravity (Nieh‑Yan, gravitational Chern‑Simons).
• Cosmological perturbation theory and numerical integration of coupled field equations.
• Astroparticle modelling of blazar jets and photohadronic processes.
• Proficiency with LaTeX, Python, SymPy and Jupyter.

What we offer

• 10 hours per week for 8‑10 weeks, remote and asynchronous.
• Compensation of $80–$110 per hour, based on depth of sub‑domain match.