Yes, if you meet the eligibility requirements then candidates from any university may apply and be selected. 

Yes. Successful applicants must present documents demonstrating that they are legally authorized to work in the United States. Visa sponsorship and work authorization is possible for successful applicants through a process which would be managed by the International Student and Scholar Services Office with the support of the faculty mentor and department.

Yes, if you meet all of the eligibility criteria and if you are selected, visa sponsorship is possible. The University of Minnesota International Student and Scholar Services office would evaluate your current status to determine if a transfer or extension of your current status or a change of status is possible. 

Yes. Successful applicants must present documents demonstrating that they are legally authorized to work in the United States. Visa sponsorship and work authorization is possible for successful applicants through a process that would be managed by the International Student and Scholar Services Office with the support of the faculty mentor and department.

For anyone who would be moving from an international location, relocation to the Minnesota Twin Cities metropolitan area would be required. See FAQ for moving expenses provided.  IonE Postdoctoral Fellows may not work remotely from a different country.

Yes, anyone who is planning to graduate this calendar year can apply.  If you plan to graduate in 2025 or later you will be able to apply to one of our future cohort calls.

It depends. You are eligible if you completed or received your Ph.D. after December 31, 2018.

Ph.D., DDS, DVM, JD, MD, or equivalent is required.

You can find screen shots of the application google form here.

Yes - as long as you are signed into a Google account. Google form now has a user autosave feature that will automatically save your entries for 30 days when you are signed into your Google account.

We will use the keywords you provide to help us understand what you consider are your key areas of strength and expertise and to get a sense of what areas you would like to  develop as part of your postdoctoral fellowship.

Great question! Please watch our 30-minute "Tips & Tricks for Applying" webinar for great advice on creating a strong application.

We will be reviewing applications as they are submitted. This means you may hear from us about moving to the semi-finalist interview stage anytime between your application submission date and March 19th. The semi-finalist interview stage is a one-way SparkHire interview and everyone who is selected for this phase will have the same deadline - March 24, 2024 - to submit their video interview. Thus, applicants who submit their materials several weeks early and are selected for the semi-finalist stage will have more time to complete and submit their SparkHire interview.  

Everyone who submits an application to the IonE Postdoctoral Fellowship will be notified of their status by March 19, 2024.

Your date of application submission will not impact our decision regarding your application. Applicants who are selected to move to the semi-finalist stage and are notified early will have more time to complete the SparkHire interviews because the program has the same deadline for the semi-finalist interview submission. For candidates notified of semi-finalist status in mid-March, the minimum amount of time to complete the SparkHire interview will be 5 days. We will notify all candidates as to whether they are moving to the finalist stage at the same time in early April.

The evaluation process will include 3 phases: 1) application review, 2) 1-way interview of qualified candidates, and 3) 2-way zoom interview of finalists.

Phase 1:

Initial applicants will be reviewed for eligibility requirements and assigned to at least three IonE team members. These reviewers will evaluate the applicants in all fields according to their potential for success within IonE’s impact focused research portfolio. Special consideration given to potential contributions to the diversity and equal opportunity goals of IonE. Reviewers will decide which candidates are qualified to move forward to a semi-finalist stage. Candidates will be notified of their status for the semi-finalist stage by March 19th at the latest.

Phase 2: 

The semi-finalist stage is a 1-way, asynchronous recorded video interview (Spark Hire). Each candidate will respond to 4-5 questions. Candidates will be given the questions ahead of time and have 3 minutes to answer each one; you will be given one opportunity to re-record your response if you wish. The reviewers will review these responses and indicate which candidates will be selected as finalists to move forward into Zoom interviews. Candidates will be notified of their status for Phase 3 interviews by April 5th.

Phase 3:

ALL Zoom interviews will take place April 15 and 16. We will work with the finalists to schedule a 45-minute time slot for their 2-way Zoom interview; times are not guaranteed until scheduled, so we encourage all candidates to reserve April 15 and 16, 2024 on their calendars. We will provide finalists with the interview questions in advance. 

Final Selection:

After the Zoom interviews, principal investigators will submit their recommendations to the Knowledge Initiatives Director for final selection and notification. All candidates will be notified of their final status in early May 2024.

Yes, IonE implements inclusive hiring practices.  This means we share interview questions ahead of time so that you can prepare and put your best foot forward. 

Candidates who advance to the finalist stage will be contacted about projects that they have matched to given their application and Spark Hire interview. All finalists will be able to learn more about the projects they matched to and can choose not to interview for a project if they are not interested. 

(Although we would encourage you to be open to all possibilities and to learn more through the finalist interview process, where you will be able to personally meet mentors, colleagues, and project team members and ask questions about the projects.)

The projects that we anticipate that postdocs will be matched to as part of the 2nd IonE Postdoctoral cohort are listed on website on the Postdoctoral Projects page. You cannot apply for a specific project (see FAQ on how we match fellows to a research project). Additional projects may be added over the course of the application and review period.

No. All IonE Postdoctoral Fellows will be matched to 1-2 projects. There will be opportunities as part of all projects to shape the intellectual direction of the work with the project team.

There is no expectation that applicants will contact PIs prior to submission. 

The finalist interviews will be over Zoom and will be scheduled for on April 15 and 16 between 9 am - 5 pm US CDT. If you are selected as a finalist you will be given an interview time on one of those days in early April. We will be mindful of time zone differences so that everyone can be their best, but will not be able to accommodate interviews scheduled on different days or during different time windows. We recommend holding both of these days on your calendar.

The specific start date is negotiable, if you are selected. We anticipate that IonE Postdoctoral Fellows selected in 2024 have a start date between June - December 2024.  

IonE postdoc salaries have been updated, given OVPR approval, to the following pay bands:

Years of Experience (as a postdoc or relevant prior professional experience) Starting Annual Salary

0-1 $60,000

2-3 $63,500

4-5 $66,000

> 5 years $68,500

In special circumstances, in addition to prior professional experience, consideration for starting salary can consider skill, technical background, specialty, or other qualifications. In addition to the initial annual salary offered to postdocs given their prior experience, continuing postdoc employees would be eligible for in-range adjustments given years of experience.  

IonE postdocs will be offered, as part of standard postdoc employment packages, 20% time to devote towards their postdoc professional development plan activities, $1500 per year of professional development and/or conference expenses, office space, computer equipment, office supplies needed to accomplish their work, and moving expenses, if relevant.

IonE postdoc moving expenses are paid as a lump sum amount as part of the first paycheck (UMN relocation policy) given the following guidelines: 

• Move within 150 miles of campus (outside of Twin Cities metro region): $500

• Move move 151-999 miles: $1500

• Move >1000 miles: $2500

A work week is considered as 40 hours of work.  There is some flexibility around the working hours that are adopted based on people’s individual work preferences, however, regardless of the time zone where you are located, the core hours in which project meetings are scheduled for projects are Monday through Thursday 10-4 CT.  “Science Fridays” are deep work, no/limited meeting day for the entire Knowledge Initiatives team. 

Fellowships are for two years.

The Research & Innovation Office (RIO)  and IonE endorse a “work with flexibility” approach that offers a welcoming and flexible work environment where everyone is inspired to do their best. Work location options include working entirely in the office, partially remote (hybrid), or fully remote and work location options are based on the position and nature of the work. Because we are a land-grant institution that serves the state, the University will continue to - in most cases - expect employees to live in Minnesota. Given the collaborative and community aspects of IonE research projects, we will give preference for those willing to be local. We will consider fully remote positions for exceptional candidates;  those working fully remotely must reside within the United States. 

For IonE Postdoctoral Fellows who are hired as fully remote employees, there are specific times that will be specified in your contract that you are expected to travel to IonE, located on the St. Paul campus of the University of MN – Twin Cities.  Currently there is an expectation of once a semester (three times per year) to work in person for 3-5 days on specific deep engagement weeks. 

The University of Minnesota will not reimburse commuting costs, including on campus parking or public transportation passes, for employees.  Fully remote employees that are required to be in-person on campus will not be reimbursed for the travel commuting costs  to campus for these required attendance events. 

KI researchers are evaluated given their job classification and the goals that they annually set in collaboration with their supervisors.  For postdoctoral scholars, in addition to initial 1-month and 3-month goals set for every new employee as part of onboarding processes, IonE Postdoctoral Fellows work with the Project PI(s) to set semester goals given the project priorities.  Given our commitment to training and communication, regular feedback will be provided to team members about their performance.

IonE researchers who are part of Knowledge Initiatives group are expected to build an impactful record of research products and publications that may consist of, for example, scientific databases, reports, and white papers, training materials, decision support systems, and software and metadata documentation, policy memos, peer-reviewed publications, and patent filings. Impact-oriented public engagement and partner relationship cultivation are expected to be integrated into research and professional activities. Impact is assessed by the use of knowledge in society and can consist of a range of outcomes that are described in this guidebook. 

IonE is committed to becoming an antiracist organization, announced by our director in July of 2020 after the murder of George Floyd and amidst the beginning of the pandemic. We also have made a commitment to equity and are in the process of creating an updated diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice action plan that will inform our strategic planning process which is underway. 

Yes, this is an annual postdoctoral fellowship program.  The specific projects that IonE Postdoctoral Fellows will be matched to will change annually. To get notified of the release of our 2025 postdoc opportunity please sign up here.

If you want to stay informed about the IonE Postdoctoral Fellowship Program, please fill out this google form to stay connected. Note, these are general updates, not individual application updates or notices.

We appreciate the time and effort you have invested in your application.

For general questions that are not answered in this FAQ, or if you have any difficulties completing the application form or submitting documents, please email: ione-research@umn.edu.