The Postdoc Phase: Springboard after the Doctorate

You have completed your doctorate and want to qualify further for a position in science, business or society? Or you are planning to start your own company? No matter what your goal is: as long as excellent research is part of your path, the Max Planck Society is the right place for you.

As you enter the postdoc phase, the goal is to qualify yourself through exciting research projects, important publications, and research stays at renowned institutes in your field. You will conduct a high degree of independent research under the guidance of the directors in the Max Planck Institutes and you have a special opportunity to build valuable networks at the Max Planck Institutes and beyond. In this career stage, you will be empowered to take on leadership responsibilities and strengthen your subject expertise further.

Your development will be accompanied by a team of experts who will design targeted career measures for you under the umbrella of the Planck Academy as well as in cooperation with other stakeholders such as Max Planck Innovation or the Max Planck Digital Library, which will support you in optimally qualifying and profiling yourself.

Your application

Your scientific excellence can be your "ticket" to research at one of the more than 80 Max Planck Institutes.

Please contact an institute matching your research area and career goals and apply on your own initiative. Postdoctoral positions are also advertised in scientific journals and magazines. Furthermore, you can find them in our online jobboard.

What we offer:

The Max Planck Society supports you on your career path helping you to gain a high level of security and at the same time to advance science in your specific field.

• You will receive a fixed-term employment contract according to TVöD (public sector employment). The duration depends on your qualification goals. Under certain conditions, a stipend is also possible. 
• The guidelines for the postdoc phase provide the framework for your independent career development. 
• For an efficient onboarding and a good start into the next career phase, as well as for your personal and professional development, the Planck Academy offers specially tailored seminars to help you develop your transferable and communication skills and prepare you for leadership roles. Other focus areas are project management, science communication, entrepreneurship, career planning and work-life balance.
• In addition, coaching offers, career events such as Career Steps as well as the Industry Track, a support program for doctoral candidates, postdocs and research group leaders who aspire to a path from science to industry or the public sector, are open to you.   
• At most Max Planck Institutes, it is possible to take advantage of childcare facilities and equal opportunity offers.

Networks

• The Max Planck PostdocNet, a network for all postdocs of the Max Planck Society, gives you the opportunity to get in touch with other postdocs. The website serves as a platform to increase the visibility of the group, to exchange information within the postdocs and to promote interdisciplinary collaboration within the Max Planck Society and beyond.
• The interest group of the postdoc community LeadNet is also open to you.

Especially for female scientists

• With the Sign-Up program, we offer workshops for excellent female postdocs for career orientation and as preparation for leadership roles in science.
• In the Minerva-FemmeNet, a network for female scientists of all research fields and different hierarchical levels in the Max Planck Society, you will be accompanied by female mentors in your future and career planning.

Funding with a scholarship

As part of the postdoc phase, the Max Planck Society offers scholarships for international, i.e. foreign, postdocs whose main place of residence was abroad before starting their scholarship and who only come to a Max Planck Institute for a short research stay. Postdoctoral fellowships are intended for further scientific training and the acquisition of additional knowledge and skills in the context of an already completed doctorate. The completion of the doctorate must not be more than ten years ago at the time the postdoctoral fellowship is first awarded.