Postdoctoral Research Assistant in MicroCarb Mission
The University of Edinburgh
Edinburgh,
United Kingdom
Research and Science
Skilled Worker
Job posted on May 16, 2025
APPLY NOW
Job Description:
Job Description
Grade UE07: £40,497- £48,149 per annum
College of Science & Engineering, School of GeoSciences
Fixed Term: 9 months, until 31 March 2026
Full Time: 35 hours per week
The Opportunity
Given the unprecedented growth rates of atmospheric CO 2 in 2023 and 2024, there is no better time to study the global carbon cycle and how it might change with a warming climate. MicroCarb, a French-UK satellite mission launching in summer 2025, will collect atmospheric CO 2 data that will allow us to precisely monitor changes in the global distribution of CO₂ sources and sinks. The UK science lead for MicroCarb is at the University of Edinburgh so this opportunity is a valuable opportunity to gain a deep understanding of the instrument and its capabilities before data delivery begins. This positions you to make significant scientific contributions once the data becomes available.
This post is full-time (35 hours per week) and fixed term until 31 March 2026.
The salary for this post is £40,497 to £48,149 per annum.
Your Skills And Attributes For Success
Click to view a copy of the full job description (opens new browser tab)
Application Information
Please ensure you include the following documents in your application:
As a valued member of our team you can expect:
At the University of Edinburgh, you will join a group of researchers that study various aspects of atmospheric composition on Earth. These include surface emissions, uptake, and atmospheric chemistry and transport of trace gases and aerosols. The group widely uses in situ and remotely sensed measurements, computers models, and advanced data analysis techniques to gain a better fundamental understanding of the composition of Earth’s atmosphere. Our group website: http://sites.google.com/view/palmer-group/home .
Championing equality, diversity and inclusion
The University of Edinburgh holds a Silver Athena SWAN award in recognition of our commitment to advance gender equality in higher education. We are members of the Race Equality Charter and we are also Stonewall Scotland Diversity Champions, actively promoting LGBT equality.
Prior to any employment commencing with the University you will be required to evidence your right to work in the UK. Further information is available on our right to work webpages (opens new browser tab)
The University is able to sponsor the employment of international workers in this role. If successful, an international applicant requiring sponsorship to work in the UK will need to satisfy the UK Home Office’s English Language requirements and apply for and secure a Skilled Worker Visa.
Key dates to note
The closing date for applications is 13 June 2025.
Unless stated otherwise the closing time for applications is 11:59pm GMT. If you are applying outside the UK the closing time on our adverts automatically adjusts to your browsers local time zone.
Interviews will be held 2 weeks after deadline.
About Us
As a world-leading research-intensive University, we are here to address tomorrow’s greatest challenges. Between now and 2030 we will do that with a values-led approach to teaching, research and innovation, and through the strength of our relationships, both locally and globally.
About The Team
The School of GeoSciences explores the factors and forces that shape our world. The School aims to understand the world through fundamental curiosity-driven research and to support prescient decision-making at individual to global scales. We undertake world-leading research; offer new ways of understanding natural and social drivers of change; provide inter-and trans-disciplinary solutions; and work in partnership to improve livelihoods and explore ways to manage the environment that are both sustainable and socially equitable.
With over 500 academics, researchers and research students, we are the largest and most successful interdisciplinary grouping of geoscientists and geographers in the UK. Research activity is coordinated within three main Research Institutes – Global Change, Earth and Planetary Science, and Geography and the Lived Environment – and within smaller research groupings that reach across and beyond the School.
A distinctive feature of the School is the combination of academic strength, intellectual breadth and societal relevance. Our interdisciplinary research and teaching builds on established core disciplines (ecology, environmental sciences, geography, geophysics, meteorology, oceanography) to provide a variety of approaches to understanding the world (including, for example, system-scale modelling, process studies and the development of urban and social theory). The School’s research covers fundamental ‘blue-skies’ questions, as well as having application to key societal challenges including inequality and vulnerability; urban precarity; nature and cultural meaning; development and sustainability; climate and environmental change; energy, food and water security; health and wellbeing; natural resources; and natural hazards.
The School of GeoSciences aims to recognise and value diversity in our staff and students, and to support flexible and family-friendly working.
More details about the School is available from http://www.ed.ac.uk/geosciences
APPLY NOW
Grade UE07: £40,497- £48,149 per annum
College of Science & Engineering, School of GeoSciences
Fixed Term: 9 months, until 31 March 2026
Full Time: 35 hours per week
The Opportunity
Given the unprecedented growth rates of atmospheric CO 2 in 2023 and 2024, there is no better time to study the global carbon cycle and how it might change with a warming climate. MicroCarb, a French-UK satellite mission launching in summer 2025, will collect atmospheric CO 2 data that will allow us to precisely monitor changes in the global distribution of CO₂ sources and sinks. The UK science lead for MicroCarb is at the University of Edinburgh so this opportunity is a valuable opportunity to gain a deep understanding of the instrument and its capabilities before data delivery begins. This positions you to make significant scientific contributions once the data becomes available.
This post is full-time (35 hours per week) and fixed term until 31 March 2026.
The salary for this post is £40,497 to £48,149 per annum.
Your Skills And Attributes For Success
- A PhD (or a PhD submitted) in a relevant quantitative scientific discipline.
- Experience in developing and running an atmospheric transport model.
- Experience in interpreting data.
- Experience with FORTRAN and Python computer languages.
- Proven ability to work independently and efficiently.
Click to view a copy of the full job description (opens new browser tab)
Application Information
Please ensure you include the following documents in your application:
- CV
- Cover letter that describes your previous research experience.
As a valued member of our team you can expect:
At the University of Edinburgh, you will join a group of researchers that study various aspects of atmospheric composition on Earth. These include surface emissions, uptake, and atmospheric chemistry and transport of trace gases and aerosols. The group widely uses in situ and remotely sensed measurements, computers models, and advanced data analysis techniques to gain a better fundamental understanding of the composition of Earth’s atmosphere. Our group website: http://sites.google.com/view/palmer-group/home .
- A competitive salary
- An exciting, positive, creative, challenging and rewarding place to work.
- To be part of a diverse and vibrant international community
- Comprehensive Staff Benefits, such as a generous holiday entitlement, competitive pension schemes, staff discounts, and family-friendly initiatives. Check out the full list on our staff benefits page (opens in a new tab) and use our reward calculator to discover the total value of your pay and benefits
Championing equality, diversity and inclusion
The University of Edinburgh holds a Silver Athena SWAN award in recognition of our commitment to advance gender equality in higher education. We are members of the Race Equality Charter and we are also Stonewall Scotland Diversity Champions, actively promoting LGBT equality.
Prior to any employment commencing with the University you will be required to evidence your right to work in the UK. Further information is available on our right to work webpages (opens new browser tab)
The University is able to sponsor the employment of international workers in this role. If successful, an international applicant requiring sponsorship to work in the UK will need to satisfy the UK Home Office’s English Language requirements and apply for and secure a Skilled Worker Visa.
Key dates to note
The closing date for applications is 13 June 2025.
Unless stated otherwise the closing time for applications is 11:59pm GMT. If you are applying outside the UK the closing time on our adverts automatically adjusts to your browsers local time zone.
Interviews will be held 2 weeks after deadline.
About Us
As a world-leading research-intensive University, we are here to address tomorrow’s greatest challenges. Between now and 2030 we will do that with a values-led approach to teaching, research and innovation, and through the strength of our relationships, both locally and globally.
About The Team
The School of GeoSciences explores the factors and forces that shape our world. The School aims to understand the world through fundamental curiosity-driven research and to support prescient decision-making at individual to global scales. We undertake world-leading research; offer new ways of understanding natural and social drivers of change; provide inter-and trans-disciplinary solutions; and work in partnership to improve livelihoods and explore ways to manage the environment that are both sustainable and socially equitable.
With over 500 academics, researchers and research students, we are the largest and most successful interdisciplinary grouping of geoscientists and geographers in the UK. Research activity is coordinated within three main Research Institutes – Global Change, Earth and Planetary Science, and Geography and the Lived Environment – and within smaller research groupings that reach across and beyond the School.
A distinctive feature of the School is the combination of academic strength, intellectual breadth and societal relevance. Our interdisciplinary research and teaching builds on established core disciplines (ecology, environmental sciences, geography, geophysics, meteorology, oceanography) to provide a variety of approaches to understanding the world (including, for example, system-scale modelling, process studies and the development of urban and social theory). The School’s research covers fundamental ‘blue-skies’ questions, as well as having application to key societal challenges including inequality and vulnerability; urban precarity; nature and cultural meaning; development and sustainability; climate and environmental change; energy, food and water security; health and wellbeing; natural resources; and natural hazards.
The School of GeoSciences aims to recognise and value diversity in our staff and students, and to support flexible and family-friendly working.
More details about the School is available from http://www.ed.ac.uk/geosciences