Job openings

We are continuously seeking exceptional and highly motivated postdoctoral researchers and PhD students to join our group. Our research operates at the forefront of theoretical quantum science, addressing fundamental and technically demanding challenges with the ambition to influence developments at the highest international level.

Our group is a vibrant, dynamic, and highly competitive environment spanning quantum information theory, quantum chemistry, many-body physics and quantum computing. A typical group member combines strong analytical or numerical skills, scientific maturity, and a clear personal drive. Members bring their own expertise and intellectual identity, set ambitious goals for themselves, and immerse deeply in their research. Many pursue their projects with a level of dedication that naturally extends into evenings or weekends as they genuinely enjoy pushing scientific boundaries.

We highly value excellent interpersonal skills, collaboration, and an inclusive and respectful atmosphere. We welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds; selection is based solely on scientific excellence, motivation, and personal maturity.

If you are eager to challenge yourself, develop independently, and contribute to frontier research in quantum science, we encourage you to contact us to discuss opportunities and available funding.

MQV & IMPRS QST PhD fellowship – Application Deadline: 15th January 2026:

The Schilling group actively supports outstanding PhD candidates who wish to apply for the highly competitive MQV and IMPRS-QST doctoral fellowships. Our group is particularly well positioned to host such fellows, given our active involvement in MQV, MCQST, and the IMPRS-QST graduate program. We can provide extensive strategic support throughout the application and selection process. Candidates seeking our support must list the Schilling group as their first preference. Discussions will be held with shortlisted applicants. For further information see https://www.munich-quantum-valley.de/education/doctoral-fellowships and https://www.imprs-quantum.mpg.de/3192/Application

Open Call – Application Deadline: 23rd January 2026:

We are inviting applications from outstanding candidates interested in joining our group as PhD students or postdoctoral researchers. Depending on fit and available funding, successful applicants may contribute to one or more of the following long-term research programs (see descriptions below), in a high-performing and intellectually vibrant environment:  

• P1: Systematic Framework of Functional Theories for Strongly Correlated Electrons (BeyondDFT)
• P2: OpenMolcas: Code development for quantum chemistry
• P3: Tensor network methods for quantum chemistry
• P4: Foundations of quantum computing: fermionic systems
• P5: Quantum information theory for fermions

The offered positions are related to the cluster of excellence ''Munich Center for Quantum Science and Technology’’ https://www.mcqst.de/about/members/christian-schilling.html and are funded through the European Research Council (Consolidator Grant 2025), the Munich Quantum Valley https://www.munich-quantum-valley.de/, and the German research foundation https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/414324924?language=en

Application deadline: 23rd January 2026

Starting date: flexible 

 

Applications as a single pdf-document, including

• Cover letter (max. 1 page)

• CV 
• list of publications 
• contact details of two referees
• future research plans (max. 2 pages) 
• link to Master (PhD candidates) or PhD thesis (Postdoc candidates) 

shall be send to: c.schilling@lmu.de  

state in subject line either "PhD" or "postdoc", followed by the relevant project number(s) P1-P5

Applicants must additionally state in their cover letter:
1. Any existing funding they would bring to the group
2. Which fellowships or funding schemes they are currently applying for or intend to apply for

Descriptions of our long-term research programs

P1: Systematic Framework of Functional Theories for Strongly Correlated Electrons
This project forms the core of our ERC-funded research programme BeyondDFT. Its goal is to develop a next-generation theoretical framework capable of accurately describing strongly correlated quantum systems --- an area where conventional density-functional theory (DFT), despite being the workhorse of electronic-structure calculations, fundamentally fails. We aim to advance one-particle reduced density matrix functional theory (1RDMFT) into a practical, predictive, and systematically improvable alternative to DFT.

The project sits at the interface of quantum chemistry, mathematical physics, and quantum information science. It offers opportunities to contribute both to conceptual advances in many-body theory and to concrete computational methods that may transform future electronic-structure modelling. We are recruiting motivated PhD students and postdoctoral researchers to work on theory development, mathematical analysis, and computational implementation within this ambitious research programme.

P2: OpenMolcas: Code development for quantum chemistry 
This project aims to refine our group’s recently developed scheme for active space selection and thoroughly benchmark its performance across a range of challenging molecular systems. A central goal is the integration of this method into the widely used OpenMolcas software package, contributing to its further development and accessibility for the quantum chemistry community.

P3: Tensor network methods for quantum chemistry
We investigate how tools from quantum information theory can uncover and exploit the correlation structure of molecular ground states, with the goal of improving tensor network approaches for quantum chemistry. This includes developing orbital optimization strategies in QC-DMRG to enhance locality, as well as novel hybrid methods to better capture dynamical correlation.

P4: Foundation of quantum computing: fermionic systems
We investigate how tools from quantum information theory can uncover and exploit the correlation structure of molecular ground states, with the goal of improving tensor network approaches for quantum chemistry. This includes developing orbital optimization strategies in QC-DMRG to enhance locality, as well as novel hybrid methods to better capture dynamical correlation.

P5: Quantum information theory for fermions
We pursue a unified framework for fermionic entanglement and correlation, with particular focus on the connection between particle and mode entanglement. A central conjecture, if confirmed, would replace vague notions such as static and dynamic correlation with a precise and operationally meaningful complexity measure. We also explore how ideas from quantum thermodynamics can sharpen our understanding of chemical bonding.