Postdoctoral Research Associate


Company:	Durham University
Salary:	£38,784 - £46,049
Hours:	Full-time
Location:	Durham, DH1 3UP
Job type:	Contract
Posting date:	24 Jul 2026
Closing date:	23 Aug 2026

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Summary

The Role and Department

The successful candidate will be working in the Durham University Space Research Centre (SPARC) and the Centre for Advanced Instrumentation (CfAI) in the Department on Physics.

SPARC is a new research centre connecting experts across space technology, operations, governance and security. We are founded on the principle of open, rigorous and independent research to grow the capacity and capabilities of space applications while protecting the space environment for present and future generations. Our vision encompasses not only the pursuit of cutting-edge technologies but also the holistic understanding of space and its broader societal, ethical, and environmental impacts. Through responsible, multi-disciplinary research, including novel sensors, environment modelling, machine learning, governance and operations, we aim to address the complex challenges and opportunities of space exploration.

CfAI is a large research group in the Department of Physics at Durham University with approximately seventy staff and research students. CfAI's mission is to design and develop novel instrumentation based on cutting edge technologies. CfAI develops state-of-the-art ground and space-based instruments for applications across a wide range of disciplines including adaptive optics, spectroscopy, biophysics, remote sensing, laser communications, and fusion diagnostics. We host the ESA affiliated lab on free-space optics.

CfAI has provided major instruments for many of the world's leading astronomical facilities including the James Webb Space Telescope, William Herschel Telescope, Gemini Telescopes, Southern African Large Telescope and the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope. Major current ground-based instrumentation projects in CfAI include HARMONI and MOSAIC, the first-light spectrograph and multi-object spectrograph for the upcoming 39m diameter Extremely Large Telescope.

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