Postdoctoral Research Assistant

Whiteknights Campus

The job requirements are detailed below. Where applicable the skills, qualifications and memberships required for this job have also been included.

Job details

Contractual hours: 35

Job category/type: Academic and Research

Full-time, Fixed Term for one year

Interviews will be held: Tuesday 16th June 2026

Due to the complexity of the Skilled Worker Visa route and eligibility criteria, applicants requiring sponsorship are recommended to check their eligibility on the Home Office website. We cannot provide advice to candidates at the application stage and will only discuss visa routes with candidates who are invited to interview. There is further information about this on the UK Visas and Immigration Website UK Visas and Immigration Website.

We are seeking to appoint a Postdoctoral Research Associate (PDRA) to work on the Therma-stats project, an innovative research initiative funded through the Ofgem Network Innovation Allowance and delivered in collaboration with ERM Sustainability Consulting & Advisory Services and UK Power Networks.

The aim of the Therma-stats project is to understand building-level electricity demand flexibility, with a focus on the role of heating systems and building thermal performance in determining the overall building’s capacity for flexibility provision. The team will model building electricity demand flexibility at the meter level using the Energy Flexibility Certificates (EFC) methodology¹. This will be combined with data on uptake levels and electricity use from flexibility assets such as heat pumps.

¹ https://www.edrc.ac.uk/publications/demand-flexibility-certificates/

Based within the School of the Built Environment at the University of Reading, the successful candidate will work with a team led by Professor Jacopo Torriti (Principal Investigator), alongside Dr Jose Ramirez-Mendiola, Professor Stefan Smith and Dr Rory Jones. The project also involves close collaboration with industry partners.

This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to cutting-edge research supporting the transition to a more flexible, low-carbon energy system in the UK.

The appointee is expected to:

Undertake quantitative research, contribute to modelling and data analysis activities, and participate in project reporting and dissemination.

You will have: compulsory

• Completed PhD or equivalent research experience
• Strong quantitative research skills
• Knowledge of energy systems, building performance or demand flexibility
• Programming skills in one of the following: Python (preferred), MATLAB, or R

Contact details:

Professor Jacopo Torriti, j.torriti@reading.ac.uk 

Dr Jose Ramirez-Mendiola, j.ramirez-mendiola@reading.ac.uk 

Please apply via the ‘Apply’ button above.

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