The Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María (USM) offers postdoctoral fellowships aimed at strengthening scientific development within the University’s academic units and research centers.

Proposed research projects may be conducted in any of the following areas of knowledge: Engineering (all disciplines), Physics and Astronomy, Mathematics, Chemistry, Biotechnology, Computer Science, Economic and Social Sciences (including Gender Studies), Architecture, and Design.

Additionally, the research project may be aligned with one or more of the following national priority challenges defined by the Ministry of Science, Technology, Knowledge, and Innovation (MinCTCI):

• Resilience to climate, environmental, and water crises, and food security.
• Promotion of a just decarbonization through the accelerated development of technologies related to green hydrogen, lithium, and electromobility.
• Sustainable productive sophistication and diversification, including the development of high value-added health products and services to advance health sovereignty; as well as the promotion of digital transformation, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, quantum computing, aerospace technologies, and the analysis and use of satellite data and astroengineering.
• Coexistence, social cohesion, and public safety.

BENEFITS

The postdoctoral positions will be awarded for a period of 2 years. The position includes a monthly gross salary of CLP$2.498.509. In addition, for applicants living abroad, an installation benefit consisting of up to CLP$500.000 is considered.

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

Applicants must fulfill the following requirements:

1. To hold a Ph.D. degree in one of the areas of knowledge specified in this call.
2. Evidence of scientific productivity in peer-reviewed journals included in Web of Science, Scopus and ERIH PLUS in the last 5 years, according to your field of research (female applicants may add one year for each child born during or after pursuing the Ph.D. degree).

DOCUMENTS

For the application to be admissible, applicants must present the following documents:

1. Cover letter, including your motivation to hold the postdoctoral position.
2. Updated CV, including educational degrees and a complete list of indexed publications (following the provided template).
3. Documentation providing evidence of the possession of a Ph.D.
4. A research statement indicating a clear research proposal to be developed at USM, including state of the art, hypothesis, general and specific objectives, methodology, work plan and expected results (maximum length of 5 pages). In addition, consider 2 pages on bibliographic references.
5. Two updated reference letters (PhD supervisor is mandatory).
6. Letter of commitment of a USM Academic or researcher as sponsor, following the provided template.

All the documentation must be emailed to investigacion@usm.cl under the subject “2026 USM Postdoctoral Application”.

RESTRICTIONS AND OBLIGATIONS

1. Applicants must have been awarded a Ph.D. degree within the last 3 years (not prior to January 2023).
2. Applicants who are currently undertaking or have previously completed a postdoctoral position are not eligible to apply.
3. Foreign researchers are required to obtain all necessary documents including corresponding Visa before their starting date. Please note that the visa process can take at least 6 months.
4. Selected postdoctoral researchers are responsible for holding the necessary health insurance and other labor laws required by Chilean authorities.
5. The postdoctoral researcher is expected to conduct high-quality research, leading to at least two publications in high-impact journals indexed in WoS, Scopus, and ERIH PLUS, in accordance with their field of research. The publications must acknowledge the contribution of Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María. It is recommended that publications resulting from the Project are not published in journals included in The Predatory Journal List 2025.

6. The postdoctoral researcher must apply for an externally funded research grant, such as the Fondecyt Postdoctoral Funding Competition.
7. The USM Sponsor of the applicant must not be currently sponsoring a Postdoctoral Researcher USM, and the Sponsor must be sponsoring for the entire duration of the proposal.

EVALUATION

Applications will be evaluated by a technical committee appointed by the General Direction of Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship of USM, based on the following criteria:

1. Research accomplishments (publications, grants and awards): 50%.
2. Research statement: 30%
3. Letter of commitment of USM Academic or researcher and expected impact for USM: 20%

As part of USM commitment to gender diversity and inclusion, female candidates evaluated in the same tier of accomplishment will be selected.

IMPORTANT DATES

• Application deadline: March 16th, 2026
• Application results: April 2026.

APPLICATION GUIDELINES