Research Assistant/Associate in Non-Equilibrium Turbulent Flows over Rough Walls (Fixed Term)

University of Cambridge - Department of Engineering

Location: Cambridge

Salary: £33,002 to £46,049

Hours: Full Time

Contract Type: Fixed-Term/Contract

Placed On: 24th September 2025

Closes: 28th October 2025

Job Ref: NM47363

A position exists for a Research Assistant/Associate in the Department of Engineering, to work on non-equilibrium turbulent flows over rough walls.

The post holder will be located in Central Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, UK.

The key responsibilities and duties are to conduct direct numerical simulations of turbulent flows over rough surfaces under non-equilibrium conditions, including surface heterogeneity and evolving overlying flow conditions. The simulations will span a range of Reynolds numbers, domain sizes and surface topographies. The project aims to simulate, understand, characterise, and model the effect of surface roughness on wall turbulence when out of equilibrium. Particular emphasis will be made on determining if any form of flow similarity exists across different rough surfaces, and if concepts derived from our understanding of equilibrium flows, such as the roughness function and the equivalent sand-grain roughness, still apply in any form under non-equilibrium conditions. The project is a UKRI/NSF collaboration with Virginia Tech, and the use of direct numerical simulation, modelling and analysis will be complemented with experimental data from the Virginia Tech team. The appointee is expected to take an active role in the collaboration with the project partners, as well as in the collaboration with and mentoring of PhD students.

The successful applicant must have (or be close to obtaining) a relevant PhD in Fluid Mechanics from an Engineering, Mathematics or Physics Department, a strong background in theoretical and computational fluid mechanics, and a solid understanding of numerical analysis and familiarity with the use of analytical tools. They should also have knowledge and experience in parallel coding and spectral methods. They must have good written and spoken English and must be able to collaborate effectively within the research group and externally.

Appointment at Research Associate level is dependent on holding a PhD. If the appointee has submitted but not yet received their PhD, they will be appointed at Research Assistant level, which will be amended to Research Associate once the PhD has been awarded.

Salary Ranges: Research Assistant: £33,002 - £35,608; Research Associate: £37,694 - £46,049

Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for 24 months in the first instance.

To apply online for this vacancy and to view further information about the role, please click Apply above. Please ensure that you upload your Curriculum Vitae (CV) including a list of publications and a cover 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 Prof Ricardo Garcia-Mayoral (r.gmayoral@eng.cam.ac.uk) for queries of a technical nature related to the role, and Anna Walczyk (aw571@cam.ac.uk) for queries related to the application process. Please quote reference NM47363 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.

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