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Current jobs in the Department of Physics at the University of Cambridge.
Updated: 58 min 28 sec ago

HR Manager

Wed, 31/01/2024 - 00:00

We have a rare opportunity for a dynamic and highly experienced Cavendish HR Manager to join our passionate and dedicated community. The Department is home to over 2000 staff, students and visitors across a large range of disciplines and categories, where exemplary delivery of world-leading, innovative research programmes and teaching takes place.

The Cavendish Laboratory is at an exciting point in its 150-year history, and undergoing a substantial period of transformation, as it prepares for its relocation to a beautiful, purpose-built physics facility, the Ray Dolby Centre. As a direct result of this migration, we are taking the opportunity to review and modernise many of our professional services practices and ways of working to ensure the community are all supported efficiently and effectively, regardless of their category or status. The strategic development and transformation of the Department's operations, and service implementation, will enhance the Cavendish's continued growth and success.

As a member of the Department's senior management team, the Cavendish HR Manager plays a key role in the areas of work force strategy, planning, governance, case-work resolution, management and provision of accurate HR advice to all staff and students. The successful candidate will work closely with the Head of Operations (HOO) to ensure the Department's approach to resource allocation is both compliant and effective. You will lead and work operationally with a dedicated HR team, to ensure the smooth and efficient running of all HR-related functions within the Department. You will be responsible for reporting to, or participating in appropriate Department, School and University committees on the HR impacts of key developments, including the Ray Dolby Centre Project and its operational reorganisation.

This full-time post is available now.

Some of our many benefits include:

  • 41 days annual leave, inclusive of Bank Holidays

  • Family & Work-life balance policies including hybrid working and generous carer leave (maternity, paternity, shared parental leave, adoption leave), amongst others

  • Generous pension scheme

  • Exclusive employee discounts via our CamBens scheme

  • Personal Development: The Department actively encourages and supports personal development and our staff have access to a wide range of courses and training via our Personal and Professional Development (PPD) service.

The Essential requirements (E) outlined in the further particulars are those, without which, a candidate would not be able to do the job to the high standards required.

Click the 'Apply' button below to register an account with our recruitment system (if you have not already) and apply online.

For informal enquiries please contact Samantha Stokes at sam.stokes@admin.cam.ac.uk

Please quote reference KA40354 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.

The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.

The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.

Senior Research Associate (Part Time, Fixed Term)

Mon, 29/01/2024 - 00:00

Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for 1 year in the first instance.

The Astrophysics Group at the Cavendish Laboratory has an on-going program designing, prototyping, and deploying state-of-the-art optical and near-infrared instrumentation for astronomers worldwide. These include ANDES, a high-resolution near-IR spectrograph for the European ELT; HARPS3, which will undertake an intensive search for Earth-like planets around nearby Sun-like stars and the Magdalena Ridge Observatory Interferometer.

ANDES is a very large multiband instrument being designed and built by a large world-wide consortium for the European Extremely Large Telescope currently being built by ESO, the European Southern Observatory, and which will be sited in Chile. The UK is responsible for the near-IR spectrograph which will be assembled at the UK Astronomy Technology Centre in Edinburgh. The Cavendish Laboratory is providing the large echelle grating and dichroic assemblies to be integrated in the spectrograph.

We are seeking a part-time instrument engineer/scientist for precision instrument design at Senior Research Associate level. The successful candidate will join our existing multi-disciplinary team to provide leadership and work-package management for the ANDES project. The aim of the role is to lead the current prototype testing and formal design of the mechanical, opto-mechanical, and vacuum assemblies including a large optical grating mosaic to operate at cryogenic temperature and which typically have micron- or sub-micron tolerances and stability. The post is an interim position funded at 0.4 FTE, i.e., two days per week. As work-package manager, the post holder will provide budgetary control and report progress and finance reports to the ANDES project manager at UKATC and to Oversight committees as appropriate.

The successful candidate must hold a PhD or have equivalent experience in a relevant scientific or engineering discipline. Candidates must have a proven track record in work-package management and experience of computer aided design, analysis, modelling and testing of precision opto-mechanics. In addition, candidates should have experience of precision measurement and data acquisition and analysis. Preference will be given to candidates with experience in one or more relevant areas including:

(a) Work-package management of large technical instrumentation; (b) design, alignment, and testing of opto-mechanical assemblies; (c) cryogenic instrument prototyping, testing, and commissioning; (d) liaison with vendors of mechanical/opto-mechanical hardware; (e) electronics and control instrumentation, data acquisition.

Candidates' experience in these areas should be demonstrated by publications in journals or proceedings of conferences sponsored by professional bodies.

The candidate will also have the ability to work within a multi-disciplinary team and be a good coordinator, managing their time across projects, and communicating results clearly verbally and in writing.

The post holder will be located at the Department of Physics, Cavendish Laboratory, JJ Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE, UK.

Click the 'Apply' button below to register an account with our recruitment system (if you have not already) and apply online.

Please ensure that you upload your Curriculum Vitae (CV) and a covering letter in the upload section of the online application. If you upload any additional documents which have not been requested, we will not be able to consider these as part of your application. Please submit your application by midnight on the closing date.

If you have any questions about this vacancy please contact Professor Roberto Maiolino (rm665@cam.ac.uk). If you have any questions about the application process, please contact mott.hr@phy.cam.ac.uk.

Please quote reference KA40312 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.

The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.

The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.

Research Laboratory Technician

Fri, 26/01/2024 - 00:00

The Cavendish Laboratory at the Department of Physics is looking for someone to join them as a Research Laboratory Technician.

The Cavendish is anticipated to move to its new home, the Ray Dolby Centre, in 2024, which will mark the start of a new era for physics at Cambridge. The new state of the art facility is being purpose built for our world leading research programmes.

We are seeking an enthusiastic research laboratory technician to join a dynamic team as part of a shared laboratory technician resource supporting the Department of Physics, reporting to the RDC Laboratory Manager. You will play a vital role in supporting multiple research groups working in the laboratory settings and typologies to support cutting edge research. During the move to RDC, you will play an essential part in assisting the research activities in decommissioning and recommissioning equipment.

The successful candidate will have knowledge or experience of specialised laboratory activity including optical, electronic, computer controlled, mechanical, high pressure, cryogenic and vacuum equipment.

Once an offer of employment has been accepted, the successful candidate will be required to undergo a health assessment.

Click the 'Apply' button below to register an account with our recruitment system (if you have not already) and apply online.

Informal enquiries are welcome and should be sent to Emily Hogg, RDC Laboratory Manager, eh678@cam.ac.uk

Please quote reference KA40262 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.

The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.

The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.

Research Assistant/Associate in the Charge Transport and Thermoelectric Physics of Organic Semiconductors

Wed, 17/01/2024 - 00:00

The Optoelectronics Group, of the Department of Physics, University of Cambridge, invites applications for a Research Assistant/Associate to work on an ERC Advanced Grant led by Professor Henning Sirringhaus. The project is focused on studying the thermoelectric physics of organic semiconductors and related functional materials. The project is aiming to achieve a fundamental understanding of how the charge transport and thermoelectric properties of organic semiconductors can be enhanced. The role holder is expected to lead the characterisation of the thermoelectric physics by temperature and magnetic field-dependent transport measurements. The role-holder will be expected to participate actively in collaborations with other post-doctoral researchers and PhD students working on related projects, as well as national and international partners.

Candidates will have completed a PhD degree in a relevant field such as Physics, Chemistry, Materials Science or Electrical Engineering. They will have a strong background in semiconductor physics and experience in temperature dependent transport measurements on organic semiconductors.

Appointment as a Research Associate is dependent on having a PhD, including those who have submitted but not yet received their PhD (in which case appointment will initially be made at research assistant - Grade 5, and amended to research associate - Grade 7, when the PhD is awarded).

The position is available from March 2024.

Please see the attached further information file for the relevant post for more role specific details.

Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for 12 months in the first instance.

Once an offer of employment has been accepted, the successful candidate will be required to undergo a health assessment.

Click the 'Apply' button below to register an account with our recruitment system (if you have not already) and apply online.

Please ensure that you upload your Curriculum Vitae (CV), a cover letter, publications list in the upload section of the online application and the names and contact details of two referees who are familiar with your work/studies in the relevant field. If you upload any additional documents that have not been requested, we will not be able to consider these as part of your application.

Informal enquiries about the position can be addressed to the Kapitza Hub (kapitza.hr@phy.cam.ac.uk).

The closing date for applications is 2nd February 2024

Please quote reference KA40155 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.

The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society. We particularly encourage women and/or candidates from a Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic background to apply for this vacancy.

The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.

Research Assistant / Research Associate in Radio Instrumentation (Fixed Term)

Tue, 16/01/2024 - 00:00

Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for 2 years in the first instance.

A position exists for a Research Assistant / Research Associate in Radio Astronomy Instrumentation.

The aim of the role is to develop radio instrumentation, with a special focus on digital back-ends for 21-cm cosmology from space (i.e. CosmoCube mission). A new era of radio astronomy is coming. Radio Frequency Interference from human-made sources, the presence of the ionosphere, and even the radiation from the soil, impose great challenges for ground-based radio experiments attempting the study of the early epochs of the Universe via studies of the 21-cm line from atomic Hydrogen. With the Moon in the agenda of all space agencies again, a new opportunity arises to develop, launch and operate radio experiments from the most pristine observation environment in the solar system: the far side of the Moon.

We are looking for an enthusiastic and bright researcher to work on the development of the digital back-ends of highly accurate radiometers for the next generation instruments. A successful candidate would be expected to take initiative and propose solutions to existing problems as well as to start new research.

The successful candidate will hold a PhD (or close to obtaining) in engineering, physics, astronomy or a closely related area with a proven track record in digital systems (e.g. FPGAs, RFSoC, SDRs, etc). Preference will be given to candidates with experience in firmware/software development as demonstrated by publications in major journals. A solid understanding of radio instrumentation with application in astronomy is desired.

The candidate will also have the ability to communicate effectively its own research and to perform management tasks for the projects they will work on, including liaising with industry partners, organisation of meetings, etc.

The post holder will be located at the Department of Physics, Cavendish Laboratory, JJ Thomson Avenue, Cambridge, CB3 0HE.

Research Associate: £36,024 - £44,263 (Grade 7). Appointment at Research Associate level is dependent on having a PhD. Those who have submitted but not yet received their PhD will initially be appointed as a Research Assistant (Grade 5, Point 38 - £32,982) moving to Research Associate (Grade 7) upon confirmation of your PhD award.

Click the 'Apply' button below to register an account with our recruitment system (if you have not already) and apply online.

Please ensure that you upload your Curriculum Vitae (CV) and a covering letter in the upload section of the online application. If you upload any additional documents which have not been requested, we will not be able to consider these as part of your application. Please submit your application by midnight on the closing date.

If you have any questions about this vacancy please contact Dr Eloy de Lera Acedo (ed330@phy.cam.ac.uk.). If you have any questions about the application process, please contact mott.hr@phy.cam.ac.uk.

Please quote reference KA40143 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.

The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.

The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.

Research Assistant / Research Associate in High Pressure Physics x 2 (Fixed Term)

Fri, 05/01/2024 - 00:00

Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for 2 years in the first instance, with the potential of extending for a further year (subject to funding).

Applications are sought for up to two Schmidt Research Associate positions in the Department of Physics, University of Cambridge. The positions in the group of Prof. Suchitra Sebastian (www.quantum-materials.phy.cam.ac.uk) are funded through a Schmidt Polymath Award https://www.schmidtfutures.com/our-work/schmidt-science-polymaths/.)

The project will involve the study of correlated electron materials of interest including unconventional superconductors and unconventional insulators under high-applied pressures, low temperatures, and high magnetic fields. The role will include designing and preparing of diamond anvil pressure cells and / or cubic anvil pressure cells to perform low temperature electrical resistivity measurements on various materials under high hydrostatic pressures above 10 GPa. These high pressure conditions will be combined with facilities offering low temperatures down to 10 mK and high magnetic fields up to 22T in the laboratories of Prof. Suchitra Sebastian at the Maxwell Centre, Department of Physics, Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge, UK, and Prof. Katsuya Shimizu at the Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University, Japan.

Work will be performed across locations in Osaka and Cambridge. Measurements under the most extreme conditions will involve travel to international facilities. Analysis and interpretation of high pressure measurements, often within collaborations, will be performed for publication in scientific research journals.

Applicants will have a PhD (or close to obtaining) in Physics or Engineering, or equivalent scientific background. Candidates should have demonstrable understanding of correlated electron physics in various materials, cryogenic knowledge, experience of designing and preparing transport measurements in diamond anvil cells and / or cubic anvil pressure cells under hydrostatic applied pressures above 10 GPa. Candidates should be able to design and prepare diamond anvil pressure cells to reach high-pressures under hydrostatic conditions, and conduct low temperature measurements of electrical resistivity to be performed on various materials under high-hydrostatic pressures.

Research Associate: £36,024 - £40,521 (Grade 7). Appointment at Research Associate level is dependent on having a PhD. Those who have submitted but not yet received their PhD will initially be appointed as a Research Assistant (Grade 5, Point 38 - £32,982) moving to Research Associate (Grade 7) upon confirmation of your PhD award.

Dates: Starting date is flexible, from March 2024 or later.

Location: The post holder will be located 6-8 months per year in the group of Prof. Suchitra Sebastian, Cavendish Laboratory, Department of Physics, Cambridge. For the remaining 4-6 months per year the post holder will be located in the group of Prof. Katsuya Shimizu, School of Engineering Science, Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka, Japan.

Click the 'Apply' button below to register an account with our recruitment system (if you have not already) and apply online.

Please ensure that you upload your Curriculum Vitae (CV), covering letter and reference letters in the upload section of the online application. If you upload any additional documents which have not been requested, we will not be able to consider these as part of your application. Please submit your application by midnight on the closing date.

If you have any questions about this vacancy please contact Prof. Suchitra Sebastian (ses59@phy.cam.ac.uk.). If you have any questions about the application process, please contact mott.hr@phy.cam.ac.uk.

Please quote reference KA40021 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.

The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.

The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.

Research Grants Administrator

Fri, 22/12/2023 - 00:00

The Cavendish Laboratory is the home of the Department of Physics at the University of Cambridge.

A large proportion of the Cavendish is anticipated to move to its new home, the Ray Dolby Centre, in 2024, which will mark the start of a new era for physics at Cambridge. The new state of the art facility is being purpose-built for our world-leading research programmes and will provide National Facilities for all HEIs and commercial partners, sharing equipment and expertise.

The Department currently holds around 345 active research grants with a total value of £155 million and we are inviting applications for the role of Research Grants Administrator to join an expanding team at this very exciting time.

The successful candidate will be highly motivated and enthusiastic and will be expected to develop a close working relationship with PI's, Departmental Staff and the Research Operations Office to ensure a smooth management of all processes and compliance with necessary regulations. You will provide a comprehensive and efficient research grant management service to the Department through every stage of the grant management process to ensure effective management of all research grant activity. You will be expected to assist with the audit process and assist to maximise future funding opportunities.

This is a varied post which requires excellent organisational skills and attention to detail, alongside the ability to prioritise and to work under pressure to meet deadlines. Excellent communication and interpersonal skills are also required, as well as a proactive approach to problem solving.

You will be educated to degree level/Level 6 vocational Qualifications or have an equivalent level of practical experience. You should also be able to demonstrate advanced knowledge of Research Grants Administration with excellent IT skills.

Once an offer of employment has been accepted, the successful candidate will be required to undergo a health assessment.

Click the 'Apply' button below to register an account with our recruitment system (if you have not already) and apply online.

Informal enquiries are welcome and should be sent to Sarah Hedger, dda@phy.cam.ac.uk

Please quote reference KA39963 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.

The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.

The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.

Research Laboratory Technician

Thu, 21/12/2023 - 00:00

The Cavendish Laboratory at the Department of Physics is looking for someone to join them as a Research Laboratory Technician.

We are based on the West Cambridge site and the Department is looking forward to major developments, including moving to a state of the art new building ¿ the Ray Dolby Centre, in 2024.

In this role, you will become an integral part of our team, reporting to the RDC Laboratory Manager, working in a variety of laboratory settings and typologies to support cutting-edge research. During the move to RDC, you will play an essential part in supporting the research activities in decommissioning and recommissioning equipment.

You will have the unique opportunity to undertake a Level 5 apprenticeship with CSR, allowing you to further develop your skills and knowledge. If you're ready to contribute to groundbreaking research and be part of an innovative community, apply now.

Once an offer of employment has been accepted, the successful candidate will be required to undergo a health assessment.

Click the 'Apply' button below to register an account with our recruitment system (if you have not already) and apply online.

Informal enquiries are welcome and should be sent to Adam Brown, Head of Scientific Laboratory Services, adb60@cam.ac.uk

Please quote reference KA39951 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.

The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.

The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.