Postdoctoral Research Fellow

University of Exeter - Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy - Physics and Astronomy

Placed On: 30th October 2025

Closes: 5th January 2026

Job Ref: Q10817

Salary Details

The starting salary will be from £43,482 on Grade F, depending on qualifications and experience.

Summary of the role

The above full-time (1.0FTE) post is available from early October 2026 until the end of September 2029, on a fixed term basis within the Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy.

This role offers the opportunity for hybrid working – some time on campus and some from home.

The post

The Faculty wishes to recruit a Postdoctoral Research Fellow to investigate the dynamics of gas and its interaction with dust in debris discs. This ERC funded post is available from October 2026. Earlier or later starting times are possible. The successful applicant will use hydrodynamical simulations to study how gas evolves in debris discs (e.g. what is its expected viscosity), how gas interacts with the dust to potentially produce some of the structures seen in JWST or ALMA data, and how these processes are affected by the presence of planets.

The post will include: setting up and running hydrodynamical simulations and comparing the results with observational constraints. The successful applicant will also have the opportunity to work with Masters students, summer students and potentially co-supervise PhD students.

About you

The successful applicant will be able to develop research objectives, projects and proposals; identify sources of research funding and contribute to the process of securing funds and make presentations at conferences and other events.

Applicants will possess a relevant PhD or equivalent qualification/experience in a related field of study. The successful applicant will be a nationally recognised authority in circumstellar disk science (e.g. debris discs, protoplanetary discs, etc) and possess sufficient specialist knowledge in the discipline to develop research programmes and methodologies. The successful applicant will also be able to work collaboratively, supervise the work of others and act as team leader as required. The applicant should be familiarised with the hydrodynamics of circumstellar discs, have the skills to run and adapt hydrodynamical simulations to be run in remote CPU/GPU clusters, and ideally have some experience producing synthetic observations of discs using radiative transfer software. Knowledge on dust-gas interactions would be also valuable.

As part of your application, please include the following in PDF format:

• CV (including a publication list)
• A cover letter
• A research statement stating interests and achievements (maximum of 2 pages)

Please ensure you read the Job Description and Person Specification for full details of this role, by clicking the 'apply' button.

What we can offer you

• Freedom (and the support) to pursue your intellectual interests and to work creatively across disciplines to produce internationally exciting research;
• Support teams that understand the University wide research and teaching goals and partner with our academics accordingly
• An Innovation, Impact and Business directorate that works closely with our academics providing specialist support for external engagement and development
• Our Exeter Academic initiative supporting high performing academics to achieve their potential and develop their career
• A multitude of staff benefits including sector leading benefits around maternity, adoption and shared parental leave (up to 26 weeks full pay), Paternity leave (up to 6 weeks full pay), and a Fertility Treatment Policy
• A beautiful campus set in the heart of stunning Devon