Research Fellow (111806-0626)

Duration: Fixed-term contract until 30th June 2028.

About the Role  

Informal Queries

• For informal queries about the role, please contact Donald Evans (Senior Research Fellow) at Donald.M.Evans@warwick.ac.uk

Flexible Working

• We will consider applications for employment on a part-time or other flexible working basis (e.g. job share), despite the position being advertised as full-time.

We are seeking to appoint an experienced Research Fellow to undertake advanced crystallographic research on superconductors and correlated oxide materials, with a particular focus on developing a detailed structural understanding of complex, weakly ordered, and incommensurate crystalline phases.

The post will centre on the use of high precision spatially resolved single crystal X ray diffraction (XRD) to resolve subtle symmetry breaking, modulated structures, and crystallographic heterogeneity that underpin superconducting behaviour. Particular attention will be given to structural phase transitions, oxygen sublattice ordering, lattice instabilities, nanoscale structural inhomogeneity and the structural defects such as dislocations or stacking faults.

About You  

You will have a PhD in physics, materials science, chemistry, or a related discipline, with a strong background in crystallography or diffraction based structural analysis.

You will have demonstrable experience in the study of complex structural behaviour in solids, such as weak or emergent symmetry lowering, incommensurate or modulated order, crystallographic disorder, or subtle lattice distortions associated with superconducting or correlated oxide materials such as ferroelectrics. Extensive experience with X ray diffraction techniques (powder or single crystal diffraction) is essential, and experience using XRD to investigate subtle transitions or oxygen occupancy ordering is highly desirable.

Experience of synchrotron beamtime is essential. A demonstrated track record via employment at a synchrotron or large scale facility beamline—for example contributing to instrument operation, user support, or method development—is particularly welcome.

Equally important, you will bring an open, positive, and collaborative approach to research, with enthusiasm for working across experimental boundaries. You will be comfortable acting as a conduit between diffraction specialists and functional materials researchers, contributing structural insight to a wider experimental story.

PhD Status

If you are near submission of your PhD, or have not yet had it conferred, any offers of employment will be made at Research Assistant level, at the highest spinal point of pay grade 5 (£34,610 per annum).

Upon receipt of evidence confirming the successful award of your PhD, you will be promoted to Research Fellow, at the lowest spinal point of grade 6 (£35,608 per annum).

Full details of the duties and selection criteria for this role can be found in the vacancy advert on the University of Warwick's jobs pages. You will be routed to this when you click on the 'Apply' button.

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