Senior Research Associate in Immersive Tools and Technologies

The role

This is an exciting opportunity for a Senior Research Associate (SRA) to join the Immersive Arts project.

Immersive Arts is a national programme which is supporting over 200 artists from across the UK to explore the possibilities of immersive technology. By 2027 the programme will have awarded £3.6m of dedicated grant funding to support artists to develop their practice, as well as hosting training, events and showcasing the best of UK creativity in all four Nations of the UK and beyond.

The post holder will primarily be exploring one of the programme’s key research themes - Immersive tools and technologies. Among the questions being explored in this theme area: What do artists need to know to work confidently and creatively with immersive forms? What are the perceived technical and skills barriers? What resources exist to support creative and technical literacy for XR? How might artists work convergently with XR and other tools such as Artificial Intelligence to produce immersive experiences? How can sensing and interpretive tools and technologies enable better understanding of user experience and create personalised XR experiences?

What will you be doing?

• Playing a leading role (with support) in researching the design, development, and implementation of immersive experiences within the project;
• Collaborating with the Immersive Arts partners and artists to develop a programme of research that explores some of the concerns and challenges that exist within the sector;
• Playing a leading role (with support) in the preparation of publications, other outputs (including blogs, social media, etc.), and wider impact and engagement.

You should apply if

• A PhD in Computer Science, Human-Computer-Interaction, or a closely related technology discipline, or extensive relevant industrial/commercial experience in immersive technologies.
• A strong research track record in immersive technologies.
• Awareness of latest developments in the field of immersive technologies.
• Extensive knowledge, technical skills, and experience in developing engaging immersive experiences, including the ability to use either Unreal and/or Unity games engines.
• Ability to collect, analyse and understand data, using qualitative and quantitative techniques.
• Experience of or interest in exploring the social, ethical, and political questions around innovation in immersive technologies.
• Experience of working successfully across disciplines.
• Experience in producing academic conference and/or journal papers.
• Excellent oral communication skills and the ability to collaborate and communicate effectively with a wide variety of partners and work well in a team.

Additional information

For informal queries, please contact: Professor Kirsten Cater, (line manager) kirsten.cater@bristol.ac.uk

To find out more about what it's like to work in the Faculty of Engineering, and how the Faculty supports people to achieve their potential, please see our staff blog:

https://engineering.blogs.bristol.ac.uk/category/engineering-includes-me/

Contract type: Open ended with fixed term funding until 31/01/2027

This advert will close at 23:59 UK time on Sunday 14th December.

Interviews are expected to take place on Monday 22nd December.

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The University of Bristol aims to be a place where everyone feels able to be themselves and do their best in an inclusive working environment where all colleagues can thrive and reach their full potential. We want to attract, develop, and retain individuals with different experiences, backgrounds and perspectives – particularly people of colour, LGBT+ and disabled people - because diversity of people and ideas remains integral to our excellence as a global civic institution.

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