Research Associate in 4D-STEM and Advanced Characterisation of Hybrid Interfaces and Molecular Thin Films

Location: South Kensington campus

Contract: Full-Time, Fixed Term contract until 30 September 2026

Job summary:

The EPSRC Programme Grant Combining Advanced Materials for Interface Engineering (CAMIE) is a collaboration between the University of Leeds (UoL), Imperial College London (ICL) and Queen’s University Belfast (QUB).

CAMIE aims to develop new ways to store, manipulate and transport information, based on our unique approach to materials integration and interface control. Using the integrated Royce deposition system, fundamentally different materials can be brought together into single hybrid structures to realise new emergent functionality useful for enhanced device performance. By controlling interfaces at the atomic level, we will seek phenomena that have the potential to reduce energy loss in novel structures: for example, using surface states of topological insulators (TIs) should reduce the current densities required to move chiral spin structures; molecular interfaces can enhance the effective spin-orbit coupling increasing charge-spin conversion efficiency; switching ferroelectrics that are coupled to spin statics and dynamics involves lower loss than switching ferromagnets.

Duties and responsibilities

• Perform original research under the direction of the relevant staff members consistent with the research plans of CAMIE.
• Develop research objectives and proposals, contribute to setting the direction of the research project and team including preparing proposals for funding in collaboration with colleagues.

Essential requirements

• A PhD (or have submitted your thesis before taking up the role) in Materials, Physics, Chemistry or a closely allied discipline.
• Expertise in aberration corrected (scanning) transmission electron microscopy ((S)TEM)
• Expertise in sample preparation using focused ion beam.
• Expertise in functional hybrid materials properties.

Candidates who have not yet officially been awarded their PhD will be appointed initially at Research Associate (with a salary range of £41,694 to £44,888.)

For further information about the role, please contact Professor Sandrine Heutz (S.Heutz@imperial.ac.uk).

Any queries regarding the application process should be directed to: Darakshan Khan (d.khan@imperial.ac.uk).

For technical issues, please contact: support.jobs@imperial.ac.uk 

The College is a proud signatory to the San-Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), which means that in hiring and promotion decisions, we evaluate applicants on the quality of their work, not the journal impact factor where it is published. For more information, see https://www.imperial.ac.uk/research-and-innovation/about-imperial-research/research-evaluation/

The College believes that the use of animals in research is vital to improve human and animal health and welfare. Animals may only be used in research programmes where their use is shown to be necessary for developing new treatments and making medical advances. Imperial is committed to ensuring that, in cases where this research is deemed essential, all animals in the College’s care are treated with full respect, and that all staff involved with this work show due consideration at every level. http://www.imperial.ac.uk/research-and-innovation/about-imperial-research/research-integrity/animal-research/

We are committed to equality of opportunity, to eliminating discrimination and to creating an inclusive working environment for all. We therefore encourage candidates to apply irrespective of age, disability, marriage or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion and belief, gender identity, sex, or sexual orientation. We are an Athena SWAN Silver Award winner, a Disability Confident Leader and a Stonewall Diversity Champion.

Closing date: 22 May 2024

To apply, visit www.imperial.ac.uk/jobs and search by the job reference. ENG0310

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