Postdoctoral Research Assistant in Volcanic plume and computational fluid dynamics bei Edinburgh University Group

Grade UE07: £41,064 to £48,822 per annum

CSE / School of GeoSciences

Full-time: 35 hours per week 

Fixed-term: 30 months

 

The Opportunity: 

Postdoctoral Research Assistant in Volcanic Plume and Computational Fluid Dynamics (Fixed term 30 months based at the University of Edinburgh) 

 

The post-holder will join the NERC-funded PHOENIX project, “Influence of complex source and environmental conditions on eruptive plume height”, led by Prof. Thomas Aubry (University of Oxford). Combining laboratory experiments, fieldwork, and numerical modelling, PHOENIX seeks to advance understanding of volcanic plume dynamics to better manage explosive eruption hazards. The team includes co-leads Dr Eric Breard (Edinburgh), Dr Samantha Engwell (BGS), and Dr Helen Webster (UK Met Office/Exeter), with partners in the UK, France, USA, and Italy. 

 

The salary for this post is £41,064 to £48,822 per annum. 

 

Your skills and attributes for success: 

• Experience in numerical and geophysical fluid dynamics 
• Proficiency in scientific programming, advanced data analysis and coding in Fortran90 and Python. 
• Experience of independently managing a discrete area of a research project 
• Experience of actively collaborating in the development of research articles for publication 

 

Click to view a copy of the full job description. (opens in a new tab)

 

Application Information 

  

Please ensure you include the following documents in your application: 

• CV
• Cover letter 

Please do not attach any manuscripts, papers, transcripts, mark sheets or certificates as these will not be considered as part of your application. 

 

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 
• 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 LGBTQ 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 may be able to sponsor the employment of international workers in this role.  This will depend on a number of factors specific to the successful applicant.

 

Key dates to note 

The closing date for applications is 17th November 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.  
 

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