Description

Research Associate in Particle Physics

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Job number

NAT01964

Faculties

Faculty of Natural Sciences

Departments

Department of Physics

Salary or Salary range

£48,056 - £56,345 per annum

Location/campus

South Kensington Campus - Hybrid

Contract type work pattern

Full time - Fixed term

Posting End Date

23 Jun 2025

About the role

The Particle Physics Community at Imperial invites applications for a Research Associate position to work on the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) in the USA. The research programme will be focussed on development of data acquisition systems for the DUNE detectors. The research programme will be conducted in the Blackett Laboratory at Imperial College, at Fermilab and SURF, at CERN, and at collaborating UK institutes.

What you would be doing

The Imperial DUNE group has responsibilities in the data acquisition software development for the DUNE liquid argon far detectors. You will work on the design, development and testing of these systems.

These tasks will involve working with a team applying multidisciplinary skills in the general area of hardware, software, computing and analysis. You will engage in the research activities of the Community by working together with postgraduate students, other research associates and academics. You will also work closely with other members of the DUNE UK and international community. You will also help to produce independent and original research within the Particle Physics Community, submit publications to conferences and refereed journals, and help with the administration of the Community.

What we are looking for

You will hold a PhD* in experimental particle physics or have an equivalent level of professional qualifications and experience.

You must have the following essential criteria:

• Experience of software development and use, particularly python
• A strong record of contributions to a major software project and/or experimental particle physics project
• Demonstrated ability of planning work of a small team, of developers or scientists, of varied expertise, defining milestones and ensuring results are achieved
• Experience in taking initiative and/or developing own ideas independently
• Flexibility to adapt to an evolving environment and to work in teams, both as the leader or as a member

In addition, it would be desirable if you had:

• Experience with design and development of distributed computing systems, in particular service-oriented architectures
• Experience with design and development of control and monitoring of applications distributed over multiple processes and multiple hosts
• Experience with agile development techniques and continuous integration processes
• Experience with development of Graphical User Interfaces
• Experience of working on the design or construction of particle physics detector systems
• Experience of working in the environment of a large international science collaboration

For a full list see the job description

What we can offer you

• The opportunity to continue your career at a world-leading institution and be part of our mission to continue science for humanity.
• Sector-leading salary and remuneration package (including 39 days off a year and generous pension schemes).
• Be part of a diverse, inclusive and collaborative work culture with various staff networks and resources to support your personal and professional wellbeing.
• At Imperial, we highly value our postdocs and are committed to supporting your personal and professional development. The Early Career Researcher Institute (ECRI) serves as a central hub, offering a wide range of resources, training, and guidance. Through ECRI, you'll benefit from tailored development opportunities—including mentoring, skills workshops, and networking events—all designed to support your growth and long-term career success.

Further information

This position is available immediately for up to 2 years in the first instance with possibility of extension.

You will be based in London but will require regular travel to CERN in Geneva and Fermilab in the USA. Other UK and international travel is likely to be required.

*Candidates who have not yet been officially awarded their PhD will be appointed as Research Assistant within the salary range £43,003 - £46,297 per annum.

The Particle Physics Community at Imperial maintains a strong international profile through its strategic leadership in the design, construction, and scientific exploitation of leading particle physics experiments. Our active experimental research programme spans a broad range of initiatives, including the T2K, Super-Kamiokande and future Hyper-Kamiokande experiments in Japan; the short baseline neutrino programme at Fermilab, the future neutrino oscillation experiment DUNE at Fermilab and SURF in the USA; the search for charged lepton flavour violation with COMET in Japan; the CMS and LHCb experiments at the LHC; the search for dark matter with the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) experiment in the USA and the future XLZD experiment; the Atom Interferometer Observatory and Network (AION) project in the UK and the USA; Antimatter spectroscopy, MICE, and SHiP activities. We actively contribute to the development of future experiments and impact through the application of particle physics technologies. There are also significant accelerator, phenomenology and Grid computing programmes. As hosts to two Imperial College Centres of Excellence-namely, the Centre for Clinical Application of Particles and the Centre for High-Throughout Digital Electronics and Machine Learning - we demonstrate a strong commitment to interdisciplinary collaboration.

Visit our webpages for more information about the Department of Physics and the Particle Physics Community.

For further information about the position contact: Prof. Alex Tapper – a.tapper@imperial.ac.uk Dr. Patrick Dunne – p.dunne12@imperial.ac.uk

For queries regarding the application process contact: Paula Brown, Section Administrator – paula.brown@imperial.ac.uk

The Department of Physics is proud to be an IoP JUNO Practitioner and to hold an Athena SWAN Silver Award, recognising our ongoing commitment to fostering a supportive, inclusive, and high-achieving community. We strive to create a welcoming environment for everyone and have introduced a range of initiatives to encourage collaboration, inclusivity, and professional development.

We value the strength that comes from diverse perspectives and strongly encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds. We particularly welcome applications from individuals who identify as female and those who consider themselves underrepresented in physics.

Available documents

Attached documents are available under links. Clicking a document link will initialize its download.

• download: Employee Benefits Booklet.pdf
• download: Research Associate in Particle Physics Job Description.pdf

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