Extreme-Scale, Nano & Fundamental Engineering
/Trusted operator
Cosmology Research Scientist
Cosmological models and their confrontation with data, including where the model is under-determined.
Compensation
Engagement
Full-Time
Permanent role. Full-time commitment. This is an on-site role at Kolkata. It is not remote and not hybrid.
Scope of role
Drive specific initiatives with minimal supervision. Deepen craft. Begin mentoring others.
Research classification
Formulating and analysing physical theories, and deriving what they predict. Derivations, consistency arguments, predicted observables, written results with stated assumptions.
Theoretical research. Mathematical and theoretical work. Derivation and internal consistency are the standard here; experimental confirmation is not currently available at this scale.
Scale range 10^13 m to 10^100 m
Nothing at this scale is engineered and nothing is experimented on. The observable universe has a radius of roughly 10^26 m; everything beyond that is a property of a cosmological model rather than an observation, and this division says so every time it publishes a figure that extends past it. Simulation output is a model realisation, not data, and is labelled as such in every figure it appears in. Scientific integrity is a condition of every role in this department. Assumptions are stated separately from conclusions. Uncertainty is reported. Negative and inconclusive results are written up, not discarded. Speculative work is labelled speculative, including when that makes it less impressive. Fabrication, falsification, and presenting a simulation as a measurement end an engagement here.
Scale bands are a research classification, not a claim of experimental reach. Most of this span cannot be probed by any apparatus that exists: nothing below about 10^-19 m has been measured directly, and anything at 10^26 m or beyond is inferred from observation rather than engineered. Every opportunity states the kind of work it actually is.
01 — The role
Why this role exists at EduRankAI
Department of Extreme-Scale, Nano & Fundamental Engineering, Division D15: Astrophysics, Cosmology & Extreme-Scale Modelling. This division analyses observational and public datasets, develops cosmological models, runs simulations, quantifies uncertainty, and compares models against observations. It distinguishes evidence, inference and speculation in every result, because at this scale those three are easy to confuse and expensive to confuse. This position: Cosmological models and their confrontation with data, including where the model is under-determined. Scale range for this work: 10^13 m to 10^100 m. Research classification: Theoretical. Formulating and analysing physical theories, and deriving what they predict. Evidential standing: Theoretical research. Mathematical and theoretical work. Derivation and internal consistency are the standard here; experimental confirmation is not currently available at this scale. Nothing at this scale is engineered and nothing is experimented on. The observable universe has a radius of roughly 10^26 m; everything beyond that is a property of a cosmological model rather than an observation, and this division says so every time it publishes a figure that extends past it. Simulation output is a model realisation, not data, and is labelled as such in every figure it appears in. Scale bands are a research classification, not a claim of experimental reach. Most of this span cannot be probed by any apparatus that exists: nothing below about 10^-19 m has been measured directly, and anything at 10^26 m or beyond is inferred from observation rather than engineered. Every opportunity states the kind of work it actually is. Level 3 (Engineer and Scientist). A whole problem end to end: framing it, doing the work, and reporting the result with its limits.
02 — The work
What you will own
- 01 Analyse observational and public datasets, with the selection function addressed rather than ignored.
- 02 Develop cosmological and astrophysical models and state what each one assumes.
- 03 Run simulations at the scale the question requires, with resolution convergence tested.
- 04 Quantify uncertainty, including the systematic uncertainty that dominates at this scale.
- 05 Compare models against observations and report the comparisons that went badly.
- 06 Separate evidence, inference and speculation explicitly in every written result.
- 07 Own a whole problem end to end: framing it, doing the work, and reporting the result with its limits.
- 08 Review a colleague's work when asked, and say plainly when a result is not supported by its method.
03 — The expertise
What we look for
04 — The bar
Who thrives here
- → Education: Master's degree or doctorate in a relevant discipline, or equivalent demonstrated research output.
- → Experience: 2 to 5 years of relevant work, or a doctorate in the field.
- → Scope of the role: A whole problem end to end: framing it, doing the work, and reporting the result with its limits.
- → Must have: Can explain what a redshift measures and what has to be assumed to turn it into a distance. Also: Has analysed a real astronomical dataset, including its selection function.
- → Portfolio: at least one piece of work — code, a written result, a thesis chapter, a preprint — that somebody outside your institution can read and assess. It does not need to be published.
Terms of Engagement
How working time works at this level
A scheduled week: five days, eight hours a day, with two full rest days and latitude over when within the day you work.
Type
Mid-level
Working days
5 per week
Rest days
2 per week
Scheduled week
40 hrs
Per day
8h
Measured by
Objectives agreed at the start of each cycle. Hours recorded for compliance are never used as a performance score.
Where this stands legally
Within the 9-hour day and 48-hour week ceiling of the applicable state Shops and Establishments Act, with at least 24 consecutive hours of weekly rest and a break of at least 30 minutes after five hours of continuous work. Hours are recorded for statutory compliance only. Work beyond the scheduled week is agreed in advance and compensated with time off in lieu.
The full per-level model is published at Working Hours by Level.
05 — Hiring process
What to expect after you apply
- 01
Application review
Every application is read personally within five business days. We respond either way.
- 02
Take-home or live exercise
Role-specific. Time-boxed. Real problems we are actually working on, not invented puzzles.
- 03
Conversations
Deep technical and values conversations with the team you would join. No trick questions. No panel ambushes.
- 04
Offer or honest no
If yes: digital offer letter, signed in-portal, transparent terms. If no: written feedback if you want it.
The standard
What you deliver, and how it is judged
Deliverables
- Analyses with the selection function and systematics documented.
- Simulations with resolution convergence tested and the initial conditions recorded.
- Posterior distributions with convergence diagnostics, not point estimates.
- Written results in which evidence, inference and speculation are separately labelled.
Evaluation criteria
- Whether the selection function was handled.
- Whether resolution convergence was demonstrated.
- Whether systematic uncertainty is included rather than only statistical.
- Whether speculation is labelled as speculation, particularly where it is the interesting part.
Preferred, not required
Nothing in this list is a bar to applying.
Tools you would work in
Reports to: Astrophysics, Cosmology & Extreme-Scale Modelling Lead
Works with: D01, D02, D08, D09, D14
Before you start
What we will collect. What it costs. What we will not do with it.
We will collect
- Name, email, phone — Account + application updates. No marketing.
- Resume / portfolio link — Human review of your work.
- Date + place of birth — Identity verification only.
- Your written responses — Selection rubric. Read by humans.
- Government ID (later) — Anti-fraud at offer / interview stage. Not at signup.
We will never
- Sell your data
- Share with third-party recruiters
- Use for advertising
- Train models on it
- Send marketing email
Our situation
EduRankAI is a small, independent organization building long-term capabilities in educational intelligence, advanced AI systems, and research infrastructure. We take no advertiser money, no donations with strings attached, and no investor pressure on hiring decisions. Applying is free, and every application is read by a human — recruitment, technical, academic and leadership teams. It buys us the right to be honest.
Ready to apply?
We read every application personally. If you are the right person for this role — regardless of pedigree, background, or where you are based — you will hear back from us within five business days.
Apply through this page. You will be asked for your education, your experience, and links to work we can actually read — a repository, a write-up, a thesis chapter, a preprint. Send the piece of work you would defend, not the one with the best title. If a result in it turned out to be wrong, say so; we would rather read that than not know. Every application is read by a person. We assess applications on evidence of the work. We do not filter on institution, on age, on gender, on caste, on religion, on disability, or on where you are from. If any part of this process is inaccessible to you, tell us and we will change it for you.
Other roles in Extreme-Scale, Nano & Fundamental Engineering
Explore related openings
Mid Full-Time