Job Description
Grade UE07: £41,064 to £48,822 per annum
CSE / School of Physics and Astronomy
Full-time: 35 hours per week
Fixed-term: 3 years
The Opportunity
We seek applications for a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the field of large-scale structure cosmology. The successful candidate will join the research group led by Dr Alex Hall at the Institute for Astronomy (IfA) at the University of Edinburgh.
The research aims of this position are to tackle key challenges in cosmology relevant to the Euclid mission and to contribute to the scientific analysis of data from Euclid. The position will have a particular focus on developing and applying analysis techniques for weak gravitational lensing and photometric galaxy clustering to enhance the cosmological science returns from Euclid.
The Euclid space telescope was launched in July 2023, and the Euclid Consortium is currently preparing its first major data release, DR1, and cosmology analysis. The second cosmological data release, DR2 is scheduled for March 2029, aligning well with the timeline of this 3-year position. The successful applicant will be expected to become an active member of the Euclid Consortium ( https://www.euclid-ec.org/ ).
This post is full-time (35 hours per week). We are open to considering requests for hybrid working (on a non-contractual basis) that combines a mix of remote and regular on-campus working.
This post is fixed term for 3 years, with a start date no later than 1 st October 2026.
The salary for this post is
£41,064 to £48,822 per annum.
Your Skills And Attributes For Success
- Possess, or about to be awarded, a PhD in astronomy or a related scientific discipline.
- Relevant research experience (including PhD) in cosmology or related fields, with excellent research-level understanding of the area.
- Record of high-quality lead-author and co-authored refereed journal publications (relative to career stage).
- Capable of working independently, exercising a high degree of initiative, and with the ability to think creatively.
- Able to communicate complex information clearly, orally and in writing.
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Application Information
Please ensure you include the following documents in your application:
- CV
- Cover letter
- A short (maximum 2 pages) document describing your previous research and future research plans.
As a valued member of our team you can expect:
- An exciting, positive, creative, challenging and rewarding place to work.
- To be part of a diverse and vibrant international community.
- Comprehensive Staff Benefits, such as a generous holiday entitlement, competitive pension schemes, staff discounts, and family-friendly initiatives. Check out the full list on our staff benefits page (opens in a new tab) and use our reward calculator to discover the total value of your pay and benefits.
Championing equality, diversity and inclusion
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 Stonewall Scotland Diversity Champions, actively promoting LGBT 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
Key dates to note
The closing date for applications is
9 th January 2026.
Unless stated otherwise the closing time for applications is 11:59pm GMT. If you are applying outside the UK the closing time on our adverts automatically adjusts to your browsers local time zone.
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 School of Physics and Astronomy is in the College of Science and Engineering and comprises the Institute for Particle and Nuclear Physics (IPNP), the Institute for Condensed Matter and Complex Systems (ICMCS) and the Institute for Astronomy (IfA). We have around 100 academic staff, over 120 research staff and around 65 professional services staff.
The School of Physics and Astronomy was ranked 4th in the UK and 1st in Scotland in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021 listing for the quality, scale and breadth of its research by Times Higher Education. Consistently ranked within the top 20 physics departments worldwide, these results confirm the exceptional performance of our staff, our excellent facilities, and our world-leading research.
The School runs undergraduate programmes at BSc and MPhys level in Physics, Mathematical Physics, Theoretical Physics, Computational Physics, Astrophysics and (jointly with the School of Chemistry) Chemical Physics. The undergraduate programme has flexible entry and exit points, creating courses of variable duration and level. The School accepts around 230 new undergraduates into its programmes each year and has current student populations of over 800 undergraduates, 50 taught postgraduates and 220 research postgraduates.
We aim to ensure that our culture and systems support flexible and family-friendly working and recognise and value diversity across all our staff and students. The School has an active programme offering support and professional development for all staff; providing mentoring, training, and networking opportunities.
The School of Physics and Astronomy holds Athena SWAN Silver and IoP Juno Champion awards, in recognition of our commitment to advance gender equality.
