Postdoctoral Research Assistant in Oceanography
The University of Edinburgh
Edinburgh,
United Kingdom
Research and Science
Skilled Worker
Job posted on May 16, 2025
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Job Description:
Job Description
Grade UE07: £40,497-£48,149 per annum
College of Science & Engineering, School of GeoSciences
Fixed Term: 24 months
Full Time: 35 hours per week
The Opportunity
A two-year Postdoctoral Research Assistant (PDRA) to carry out research into generating Earth System Models that show sub-polar gyre collapse. The research requires numerical modelling, analysis and publication of results in world class journals. The PDRA should also collaborate with others in Edinburgh and in the PROMOTE (Progressing Earth System Modelling for Tipping Point Early Warning Systems) project. This project brings together researchers from seven UK research institutions and is funded by ARIA (Advanced Research and Invention Agency).
The PDRA will form part of the PROMOTE project in which UK scientists are developing and using the UK Earth System Model (UKESM) to examine the potential collapse of the North Atlantic sub-polar Gyre circulation. Within this large project the Edinburgh component has the aim of generating a handful of UKESM variants that are less realistic but more sensitive to freshwater fluxes from Greenland ice melt. This will use advanced numerical techniques to calibrate the ocean/sea-ice component of UKESM to agree with North Atlantic observations and produce variants that are differently sensitive to ocean freshwater flux off Greenland.
The PDRA should contribute to potential follow up bids for funding in the broad area of tipping points or the novel use of inverse methods in ocean or earth system modelling.
This post is full-time (35 hours per week); however, we are open to considering part-time or flexible working patterns. We are also open to considering requests for limited hybrid working (on a non-contractual basis) that combines a mix of remote and regular on-campus working. However, as the job-holder should interact with other researchers they should be on-campus at least three days a week.
The salary for this post is £40,247 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:
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 20 th 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 around 25 th June 2025 and be virtual.
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: 24 months
Full Time: 35 hours per week
The Opportunity
A two-year Postdoctoral Research Assistant (PDRA) to carry out research into generating Earth System Models that show sub-polar gyre collapse. The research requires numerical modelling, analysis and publication of results in world class journals. The PDRA should also collaborate with others in Edinburgh and in the PROMOTE (Progressing Earth System Modelling for Tipping Point Early Warning Systems) project. This project brings together researchers from seven UK research institutions and is funded by ARIA (Advanced Research and Invention Agency).
The PDRA will form part of the PROMOTE project in which UK scientists are developing and using the UK Earth System Model (UKESM) to examine the potential collapse of the North Atlantic sub-polar Gyre circulation. Within this large project the Edinburgh component has the aim of generating a handful of UKESM variants that are less realistic but more sensitive to freshwater fluxes from Greenland ice melt. This will use advanced numerical techniques to calibrate the ocean/sea-ice component of UKESM to agree with North Atlantic observations and produce variants that are differently sensitive to ocean freshwater flux off Greenland.
The PDRA should contribute to potential follow up bids for funding in the broad area of tipping points or the novel use of inverse methods in ocean or earth system modelling.
This post is full-time (35 hours per week); however, we are open to considering part-time or flexible working patterns. We are also open to considering requests for limited hybrid working (on a non-contractual basis) that combines a mix of remote and regular on-campus working. However, as the job-holder should interact with other researchers they should be on-campus at least three days a week.
The salary for this post is £40,247 to £48,149 per annum.
Your Skills And Attributes For Success
- PhD or equivalent in Physical Oceanography, Climate Sciences or numerate discipline such as Mathematics or Physics.
- Substantial experience in running ocean models – anything from Fjord to global ocean scale.
- Able to work with others across with a broad range of expertise.
- Ability to work independently.
- Strong verbal and written communication skills
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:
- An academic CV.
- Cover letter which: Say why you are interested in the role. Highlight how you meet the required and desired skills in the job description referring to your CV for evidence.
- Identify one scientific publication you are proudest of and say why you chose this paper.
As a valued member of our team you can expect:
- A competitive salary
- An exciting, positive, creative, challenging and rewarding place to work.
- To be part of a diverse and vibrant international community
- To carry out world leading research withing a large Earth System Modelling 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 20 th 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 around 25 th June 2025 and be virtual.
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