Postdoctoral Research Associate

Grade UE07: £41,885 to £49,798 per annum

College of Science and Engineering/ School of Physics and Astronomy

Full Time: 35 hour per week 

Fixed Term: 3 years, September 1, 2027 – August 31, 2030 

The Opportunity: 

Together we can do great things. Be part of something bigger. 

We offer careers and roles in just about every area you can think of. Whether you’re looking to take the next step in your current specialism, explore a new challenge, or broaden your experience, we offer opportunities where you can flourish and make a real difference. Our people come from a wide range of backgrounds, each bringing their abilities and experiences to our organisation, helping us thrive and innovate together. 

Applications are invited for two Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics, to work on applications of scattering amplitudes and the double copy to gauge theory and gravity. 

The Research Associate will contribute to the European Research Council Advanced Grant project “Classical and Semiclassical Aspects of Amplitudes”. Research activities include studying the interplay of large gauge transformations, amplitudes and observables; computing (semi)classical observables both in scattering and bound domains, and investigating amplitudes in time-dependent spacetimes. The ERC grant is held by Donal O’Connell but there will be ample opportunity to work with others including Tim Adamo, Anton Ilderton, Mao Zeng and the wider group. This post is full-time (35 hours per week). 

View the full Job Description

How to apply 

Applications should be submitted before the deadline of 11:59pm UK time on 27 November 2026. Please upload a CV and a brief research statement (strictly less than 3 pages including references) and provide the names and contact details of at least two referees. The referees will be approached for letters after the long-listing process. Please feel free to address any enquiries regarding the position to Tim Adamo ([email protected]), Anton Ilderton ([email protected]), Donal O’Connell ([email protected]) or Mao Zeng ([email protected]). 

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.  

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 a Stonewall Proud Employer, actively promoting LGBTQ+ equality.  

We welcome applications from all qualified candidates and particularly encourage applications from people of colour, women, people with disabilities, LGBTQ+ people and other minority and under-represented groups. 

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 27 November 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. Interviews will be held after the closing date. 

Interview dates to be confirmed.