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The University of Edinburgh
Postdoctoral Research Associate
City of Edinburgh Hybrid 2-5 yrs exp£41k – £49k / year
Nuclear astrophysicsR-matrix evaluationsExperimental nuclear physicsData analysisScientific research
Requirements
The ideal candidate will have a strong background in experimental nuclear astrophysics, particularly in underground laboratories. An excellent academic track record of publications and leadership in the field is required.
Job Description
Job Description
Grade UE07: £41,064 to £48,822 per annum, pro rata if part time
School of Physics and Astronomy / Institute for Particle and Nuclear Physics /College of Science & Engineering
Full-time: 35 hours per week
Fixed Term: initially for 12 months, with possibility for extension
The Opportunity
The appointed PDRA will work in the group of Prof. Marialuisa Aliotta (PI) to conduct research in nuclear astrophysics for the UKRI-funded ERC Advanced Grant “NUCLEAR: NUclear Clustering Effects in Astrophysical Reactions” The appointed PDRA will develop and apply R-matrix evaluations of experimental data on nuclear reactions cross sections of astrophysical interest, to support the research within the group and contirbute to a vibrant and exciting research area. Working closely with the PI and collaborator DR James deBoer (Notre Dame University, US), the PDRA will contribute to, and utilize, a set of tools designed for these purposes. The PDRA will maintain close ties with the PI's research team, providing R-matrix global fits of experimental data and contributing to the evaluation of astrophysical reason rates.
The ideal candidate will have a strong background in experimental nuclear astrophysics, especially in underground laboratories, as well as an excellent academic track record of strong publications and leadership in the field. In addition, s/he will be expected to co-supervise research students and to contribute to project provision and supervision of graduate and undergraduate students. The successful candidate is expected to engage in frequent field trips to overseas laboratories, present their work at collaboration meetings as required, and maintain a good collaborative attitude.
The Edinburgh Nuclear Physics Group has an outstanding reputation for scientific leadership and innovative instrumentation in diverse areas of nuclear physics including nuclear astrophysics and properties of exotic nuclei. The Group’s research is performed at world-leading laboratories, using a variety of experimental techniques and state-of-the-art instrumentation developed by the Group.
The School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Edinburgh is committed to encouraging equality and diversity among its workforce and eliminating discrimination. The School strives to create a more diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace for all, and we are looking to actively diversify our staff. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates and encourage applications from people of colour, women, people with disabilities, LGBTQ+ people and other minority and under-represented groups. We aim to ensure that our culture and systems support flexible and family-friendly working, as evidenced by our Juno Champion and Athena SWAN Silver awards.
The level of appointment for the PDRA post will be determined by the selection panel depending on the experience of the successful candidate.
A career with us has a range of other benefits that can be tailored to your lifestyle:
Responsibility and autonomy.
Excellent benefits and support.
Contributing to the work and purpose of the University.
This post is full-time (35 hours per week); however, we are open to considering part-time or flexible working patterns. We are also open to considering requests for hybrid working (on a non-contractual basis) that combines a mix of remote and regular on-campus working.
View the full job description (opens in a new browser tab)
How To Apply
Your application should include a motivation letter detailing skills and experience relevant for the post, together with a full CV and an up-to-date list of peer-reviewed publications. The names of two referees should also be provided.
For informal enquiries contact Prof. Marialuisa Aliotta ( m.aliotta@ed.ac.uk ) or Dr James deBoer ( Richard.J.deBoer.12@nd.edu )
As a valued member of our team, you can expect:
The University of Edinburgh holds a Silver Athena SWAN award in recognition of our commitment to advance gender equality in higher education. We are members of the Race Equality Charter, and we are also a Stonewall Proud Employer, actively promoting LGBTQ+ equality.
Prior to any employment commencing with the University, you will be required to evidence your right to work in the UK. Further information is available on our right to work webpages (opens new browser tab)
The University may be able to sponsor the employment of international workers in this role. This will depend on a number of factors specific to the successful applicant. Please note if the role is offered on a part-time basis, it may result in sponsorship being dependent on a number of factors specific to the successful applicant or the role no longer meeting the Home Office’s criteria for sponsorship.
Key dates to note
The closing date for applications is 30 October 2026.
Unless stated otherwise the closing time for applications is 11:59pm UK time. If you are applying outside the UK the closing time on our adverts automatically adjusts to your browsers local time zone.
We anticipate that interviews will be held on Zoom in late November. Further details will be communicated in good time to shortlisted candidates.
About Us
As a world-leading research-intensive University, we are here to address tomorrow’s greatest challenges. Between now and 2030 we will do that with a values-led approach to teaching, research and innovation, and through the strength of our relationships, both locally and globally.
About The Team
The Institute for Particle and Nuclear Physics is composed of three research groups.
The Particle Physics Experiments group seeks understanding of the fundamental particles of nature and the interactions governing their behaviour. In particular, we aim to explain the dominance of matter over anti-matter through the study of CP violation with the LHCb experiment: to understand the mechanisms of electroweak symmetry breaking that lead to the creation of mass, and to search for new particles at ATLAS and future colliders; to discover and characterise particle dark matter with the LUX-ZEPLIN and DarkSide-20k experiments; and to explore neutrino oscillations, and neutrinos of astrophysical origin with experiments distributed grid computing (GridPP), to store and analyse the vast quantities of data that are produced in these endeavours.
The Particle Physics Theory Group is interested in fundamental physics at all energy scales, from the hadronic binding energy scale, to the scale of present and future particle colliders, up to the energy scales of the very early universe at its first fractional second of existence. We have interest and theoretical involvement in most current and upcoming particle physics experiments, high energy colliders, and in observations made by the WMAP and Planck satellites. We pursue the very latest developments in both perturbative and nonperturbative field theory, renormalization theory, and the application of quantum field theory to other branches of physics such as turbulence theory and condensed matter systems.
The Nuclear Physics Group has a broad and diverse range of research interests aimed at understanding the properties and structure of nuclei, the origin of the chemical elements in the universe, and the way in which nuclear reactions power some of the most spectacular stellar explosions, such as novae, supernovaea and X-ray bursts. Our research is performed at world-leading oversea laboratories (TRIUMF, RIKEN, GSI, LNGS, CERN and others), using a variety of experimental techniques and state-of-the-art instrumentation developed by the group.
Grade UE07: £41,064 to £48,822 per annum, pro rata if part time
School of Physics and Astronomy / Institute for Particle and Nuclear Physics /College of Science & Engineering
Full-time: 35 hours per week
Fixed Term: initially for 12 months, with possibility for extension
The Opportunity
The appointed PDRA will work in the group of Prof. Marialuisa Aliotta (PI) to conduct research in nuclear astrophysics for the UKRI-funded ERC Advanced Grant “NUCLEAR: NUclear Clustering Effects in Astrophysical Reactions” The appointed PDRA will develop and apply R-matrix evaluations of experimental data on nuclear reactions cross sections of astrophysical interest, to support the research within the group and contirbute to a vibrant and exciting research area. Working closely with the PI and collaborator DR James deBoer (Notre Dame University, US), the PDRA will contribute to, and utilize, a set of tools designed for these purposes. The PDRA will maintain close ties with the PI's research team, providing R-matrix global fits of experimental data and contributing to the evaluation of astrophysical reason rates.
The ideal candidate will have a strong background in experimental nuclear astrophysics, especially in underground laboratories, as well as an excellent academic track record of strong publications and leadership in the field. In addition, s/he will be expected to co-supervise research students and to contribute to project provision and supervision of graduate and undergraduate students. The successful candidate is expected to engage in frequent field trips to overseas laboratories, present their work at collaboration meetings as required, and maintain a good collaborative attitude.
The Edinburgh Nuclear Physics Group has an outstanding reputation for scientific leadership and innovative instrumentation in diverse areas of nuclear physics including nuclear astrophysics and properties of exotic nuclei. The Group’s research is performed at world-leading laboratories, using a variety of experimental techniques and state-of-the-art instrumentation developed by the Group.
The School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Edinburgh is committed to encouraging equality and diversity among its workforce and eliminating discrimination. The School strives to create a more diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace for all, and we are looking to actively diversify our staff. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates and encourage applications from people of colour, women, people with disabilities, LGBTQ+ people and other minority and under-represented groups. We aim to ensure that our culture and systems support flexible and family-friendly working, as evidenced by our Juno Champion and Athena SWAN Silver awards.
The level of appointment for the PDRA post will be determined by the selection panel depending on the experience of the successful candidate.
A career with us has a range of other benefits that can be tailored to your lifestyle:
Responsibility and autonomy.
Excellent benefits and support.
Contributing to the work and purpose of the University.
This post is full-time (35 hours per week); however, we are open to considering part-time or flexible working patterns. We are also open to considering requests for hybrid working (on a non-contractual basis) that combines a mix of remote and regular on-campus working.
View the full job description (opens in a new browser tab)
How To Apply
Your application should include a motivation letter detailing skills and experience relevant for the post, together with a full CV and an up-to-date list of peer-reviewed publications. The names of two referees should also be provided.
For informal enquiries contact Prof. Marialuisa Aliotta ( m.aliotta@ed.ac.uk ) or Dr James deBoer ( Richard.J.deBoer.12@nd.edu )
As a valued member of our team, you can expect:
- A competitive salary.
- An exciting, positive, creative, challenging and rewarding place to work.
- To be part of a diverse and vibrant international community.
- Comprehensive Staff Benefits, including generous annual leave entitlement, a defined benefits pension scheme, a wide range of staff discounts, family-friendly initiatives, and flexible work options. Check out the full list on our staff benefits page (opens in a new tab) and use our reward calculator to discover the value of your pay and benefits.
The University of Edinburgh holds a Silver Athena SWAN award in recognition of our commitment to advance gender equality in higher education. We are members of the Race Equality Charter, and we are also a Stonewall Proud Employer, actively promoting LGBTQ+ equality.
Prior to any employment commencing with the University, you will be required to evidence your right to work in the UK. Further information is available on our right to work webpages (opens new browser tab)
The University may be able to sponsor the employment of international workers in this role. This will depend on a number of factors specific to the successful applicant. Please note if the role is offered on a part-time basis, it may result in sponsorship being dependent on a number of factors specific to the successful applicant or the role no longer meeting the Home Office’s criteria for sponsorship.
Key dates to note
The closing date for applications is 30 October 2026.
Unless stated otherwise the closing time for applications is 11:59pm UK time. If you are applying outside the UK the closing time on our adverts automatically adjusts to your browsers local time zone.
We anticipate that interviews will be held on Zoom in late November. Further details will be communicated in good time to shortlisted candidates.
About Us
As a world-leading research-intensive University, we are here to address tomorrow’s greatest challenges. Between now and 2030 we will do that with a values-led approach to teaching, research and innovation, and through the strength of our relationships, both locally and globally.
About The Team
The Institute for Particle and Nuclear Physics is composed of three research groups.
The Particle Physics Experiments group seeks understanding of the fundamental particles of nature and the interactions governing their behaviour. In particular, we aim to explain the dominance of matter over anti-matter through the study of CP violation with the LHCb experiment: to understand the mechanisms of electroweak symmetry breaking that lead to the creation of mass, and to search for new particles at ATLAS and future colliders; to discover and characterise particle dark matter with the LUX-ZEPLIN and DarkSide-20k experiments; and to explore neutrino oscillations, and neutrinos of astrophysical origin with experiments distributed grid computing (GridPP), to store and analyse the vast quantities of data that are produced in these endeavours.
The Particle Physics Theory Group is interested in fundamental physics at all energy scales, from the hadronic binding energy scale, to the scale of present and future particle colliders, up to the energy scales of the very early universe at its first fractional second of existence. We have interest and theoretical involvement in most current and upcoming particle physics experiments, high energy colliders, and in observations made by the WMAP and Planck satellites. We pursue the very latest developments in both perturbative and nonperturbative field theory, renormalization theory, and the application of quantum field theory to other branches of physics such as turbulence theory and condensed matter systems.
The Nuclear Physics Group has a broad and diverse range of research interests aimed at understanding the properties and structure of nuclei, the origin of the chemical elements in the universe, and the way in which nuclear reactions power some of the most spectacular stellar explosions, such as novae, supernovaea and X-ray bursts. Our research is performed at world-leading oversea laboratories (TRIUMF, RIKEN, GSI, LNGS, CERN and others), using a variety of experimental techniques and state-of-the-art instrumentation developed by the group.
Education
Postgraduate Degree
Skills
Nuclear astrophysicsR-matrix evaluationsExperimental nuclear physicsData analysisScientific researchProject managementSupervisionAcademic writingInstrumentationCollaboration