Research Associate in Astrophysics

South Kensington Campus

Fixed Term: up to 2 years

Applications are invited for a 2-year Research Associate position within Imperial Astrophysics in the Department of Physics at Imperial College London.

This position is supported by Dr James Owen's STFC-funded project, which aims to understand the nature and evolution of sub-Neptune planets. Sub-Neptune planets are the most ubiquitous, yet unexplained exoplanets discovered to date. One of the failures of current modelling is a fully connected model encompassing the deep interior, through the atmosphere up into the escaping exosphere, and specifically, a model that evolves in time self-consistently due to thermal cooling and atmospheric mass-loss.

In this project, you will work on one or more aspects of this problem and collaborate with the wider team to understand and predict how sub-Neptunes form and evolve. This project is a collaboration with co-Lead Dr Anjali Piette at the University of Birmingham and will involve collaboration with her group.

You will be expected to help produce independent and original research, submit publications to refereed journals and support the activities of the research group. You will have the freedom to develop your own research program alongside other members of the exoplanet group and have access to Imperial's significant HPC resources and Dr James Owen's allocation on the national DiRAC HPC system.

Candidates with a theoretical background and excellent observational candidates are encouraged to apply.

The project is supported by a 3-year STFC small award and is available to start from 1st July 2025, you would be expected to start by Autumn 2025 at the latest. You will initially be appointed for two years, with the third year contingent on satisfactory performance and funding.

You will hold a PhD* in in Astronomy, Planetary Science, or Physics or have an equivalent level of professional qualifications and experience.

You must also be able to demonstrate the following essential criteria:

• Relevant research experience in exoplanet science.
• Experience in carrying out research of high quality, independently and in a team, evidenced by a portfolio of high quality research publications.

In addition, knowledge and experience in the following areas would be desirable:

• Relevant research experience in modelling exoplanet atmospheres.
• Relevant research experience in modelling atmospheric escape.
• Relevant research experience in radiative transfer for exoplanet science.

*Candidates who have not yet been officially awarded their PhD will be appointed as Research Assistant within the salary range £43,003 - £46,297 per annum.

The position is open from July 2025; you would start by the Autumn of 2025 at the latest.

Applications can be made online via our website, by clicking the 'Apply' button, above.

In the application form instead of a supporting statement please upload a research proposal less than three pages.

For further information about the position contact:

Dr James Owen james.owen@imperial.ac.uk

For queries regarding the application process contact:

Louise Hayward, Section Administrator l.hayward@imperial.ac.uk

If you experience any technical issues with your online application, contact:

Imperial Recruitment Hub team - support.jobs@imperial.ac.uk

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