Postdoctoral Research Assistant in Aviation Contrails

Full time, fixed term contract

Closing date: 23:59 on 13 April 2026

Interview date: week commencing 27 April 2026

By reference to the applicable SOC code for this role, sponsorship may be possible under the Skilled Worker Route. Applicants wishing to consider the SWR must ensure that they are able to meet the points requirement before applying. There is further information about this on the UK Visas and Immigration Website.

We are looking for a highly motivated postdoctoral researcher to join the Atmospheric Composition, Radiation and Climate research group of the Department of Meteorology at the University of Reading. The post is available from the 1^st of June 2026 for a fixed-term period of 31 months.

This position is in the context of the non-CO₂ effects of aviation on climate, which are an extremely active topic of research in academia and the aviation industry and are the subject of much attention by European policymakers. The position is part of the Mitigation of Contrail Impact via Novel Sensing Technologies (MIST) project, led by Honeywell Aerospace UK with Boeing UK and the University of Reading. MIST is funded by Innovate UK and the Aerospace Technology Institute. MIST aims at developing an innovative sensor technology for precise humidity measurement to detect contrail formation, study ways to integrate the sensor on commercial aircraft, and evaluate how better humidity measurements affect predicted the climate impact of contrails.

The successful candidate will work within MIST to test existing contrail prediction models to assess how improved humidity inputs affect simulated contrails and their radiative forcing, quantify the sensitivity of contrail formation and persistence to time and space sampling of the humidity field, and create sampling requirements for how often and where to measure. The successful candidate will collaborate with project partners to develop innovative research of international standing. Results will be presented at project meetings and international conferences and published in leading journals. 

You will have:

• Or to be close to obtaining, a PhD in climate science, meteorology, or related fields
• Experience of numerical models of the atmosphere for research purposes.
• An excellent knowledge of atmospheric physics or chemistry
• Experience of numerical models of the atmosphere for research purposes
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team of distributed scientists towards common project goals

Contact Name: Nicolas Bellouin

Contact Job Title: Professor of Climate Processes

Contact Email address: n.bellouin@reading.ac.uk  

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