Postdoctoral Research Associate in Experimental Nuclear Physics

Department: The School of Physics, Engineering and Technology brings physicists and engineers together to push the frontiers of knowledge, foster innovation and meet the grand challenges facing society. Our aim is to deliver world-leading research in both fundamental and applied areas whilst developing new technologies that work for the public good, in an environment where everyone can thrive.

As a School, equality, diversity, and inclusion are central to our culture and we strive to provide a working environment which allows all staff and students to contribute fully, to flourish, and to excel. We aim to ensure that there is a supportive and egalitarian culture at all levels and across all staff groups and offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements, staff engagement forums, campus facilities and services to support staff from different backgrounds. We are proud to hold Juno Champion and Athena Swan bronze awards, which recognise our commitment to creating an equitable and fully inclusive environment in which staff and students can thrive. We aim to inspire young people to engage with science and engineering through our outreach work.

Role: We are currently seeking a fixed-term Postdoctoral Research Associate (PDRA). The post is available from September 1st 2025 (or as soon as possible thereafter) and until September 30th 2027, with the possibility for extension. This role will contribute to and lead science aspects relating to our current research programme on properties of exotic nuclei and relevant instrumentation and technology developments. Exotic nuclei offer unique insights into the fundamental nuclear forces and are key to understanding how nuclear matter behaves under extreme conditions. We lead cutting-edge experiments at radioactive-ion beam facilities, including GSI/FAIR (Germany), RIBF/RIKEN (Japan) and NSCL/FRIB (USA). Our group holds a leading role in relevant instrumentation developments to be deployed at these facilities. There will be opportunities for diversification of the PDRA role in ongoing detector developments, such as the HYPATIA array (a novel gamma-ray spectrometer for experiments at RIBF, Japan), the TRT@R3B device (a cutting-edge charged-particle tracking system to be deployed at FAIR, Germany) as well as the L3T silicon tracker device. The successful candidate will be encouraged to propose and lead research experiments that exploit the potential of these devices.

Skills, Experience & Qualifications Needed: You will have: A PhD in Experimental Nuclear Physics, Particle Physics, or equivalent experience. Good overall understanding of setting up and planning Nuclear Physics experiments. Excellent teamworking skills are essential and a strong experience with data analysis and simulations is desirable. Knowledge of the Linux environment, scripting languages and coding in C/C++ or a similar programming language and experience with software development and maintenance. Experience with high-level analysis of large data sets, data mining and data regression techniques. Ability to work independently, organise own work and prepare progress reports and presentations. Ability to effectively communicate physics outputs in conferences and collaboration meetings.

For informal enquiries: please contact Dr Stefanos Paschalis at stefanos.paschalis@york.ac.uk or contact pet-hr@york.ac.uk. The University strives to be diverse and inclusive – a place where we can ALL be ourselves. We particularly encourage applications from people who identify as Black, Asian or from a Minority Ethnic background, who are underrepresented at the University. We offer family friendly, flexible working arrangements, with forums and inclusive facilities to support our staff.