Postdoctoral Research Associate or Assistant Research Professor in Cosmology (Fixed Term)

Salary: Research Associate: £37,694 - £46,049 per annum

             Assistant Research Professor: £47,389 - £59,966 per annum

Applications are invited for a Postdoctoral Research Associate (Grade 7) or Assistant Research Professor (Grade 9) position in cosmology within the Relativity and Gravitation Group of the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics.

While candidates in all areas of cosmology will be considered, candidates interested in collaborating with Professor Blake Sherwin on CMB or large-scale structure cosmology (ideally on areas related in some way to CMB lensing or kSZ science) will be of particular interest. The successful candidate will work primarily with Professor Blake Sherwin, as well as academic staff across the Relativity and Gravitation group (Challinor, Dafermos, Fergusson, Hartnoll, Pajer, Quevedo, Reall, Santos, Shellard, Sperhake, Wall and Warnick) and research staff and PhD students. There are close links with the Kavli Institute for Cosmology (www.kicc.cam.ac.uk) as well as the HEP group in DAMTP. 

Applicants should have or should soon receive a PhD in a relevant area of physics or astronomy, and have an established track record of original research and experience of working in collaboration.

For a Research Associate, duties will include developing and conducting individual and collaborative research objectives, proposals and projects. You will be expected to plan your own research, with guidance if required, and to assist in the preparation of funding proposals. You must be able to communicate material of a technical nature. You may be asked to assist in the supervision of student projects and development of skills, and deliver seminars relating to the research area. 

For an Assistant Research Professor, duties will include developing and conducting individual and collaborative research objectives, proposals and projects and managing research budgets. You are responsible for the investigation and delivery of your own research programmes, and assessing, interpreting and evaluating the outcomes. You are expected to extend and apply knowledge, contribute to publications, present, and communicate complex ideas to those with limited knowledge. You need to be able to identify sources of funding, help secure funds and develop links with external contacts. You may be expected to contribute towards teaching programmes, supervise postgraduate research students, mentor colleagues and carry out appraisals. 

Further information about CTC can be found at www.ctc.cam.ac.uk and the GR Group at www.damtp.cam.ac.uk/research/gr/. 

Start date: October 2026

Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for 3 years in the first instance.

To apply online for this vacancy and to view further information about the role, please click 'Apply' above. 

Please indicate the contact details (including email addresses) of three academic referees on the online application form, and upload a full CV and a description of your recent and proposed research (not to exceed 3 pages). 

Please make your referees aware that they will be contacted by the Mathematics HR Office Administrator to request that they upload a reference for you to our Web Recruitment System, and encourage them to do so promptly. Ensure that at least one of your referees is contactable at any time during the selection process. The deadline for reference submission is 7 January 2026. 

Informal enquiries may be made to LE48117@maths.cam.ac.uk. 

The University actively supports equality, diversity, and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.

The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.

Advert information