Research Associate / Senior Research Associate in Inclusive Co-design

University of Bristol - Computer Science

Placed On: 30th March 2026

Closes: 12th April 2026

Job Ref: ACAD108524

The role

This is an exciting opportunity for a Research Associate / Senior Research Associate position to join the Diverse-Ability Interaction Lab (Dive Lab), led by Dr Oussama Metatla, within the Bristol Interaction Group (BIG) at the University of Bristol.

In the Dive Lab, we study interactions between disabled and non-disabled people to design, engineer and evaluate technologies that support more inclusion in human society. Our projects span a wide range of groups, domains, and contexts, including visual impairments, neurodiversity, and cognitive and physical impairments in education, work, and leisure.

The postholder will join a multidisciplinary team working on the inclusiveXplay project (supported by an ERC Consolidator Grant), to investigate how cross-sensory and embodied cognition informs the design of novel technologies that can support early motor, cognitive and social development of blind and visually impaired (BVI) preschool-aged children when they interact with their sighted peers. The postholder will lead the co-design aspects of the inclusiveXplay project: to engage with children, parents, and practitioners through design research to generate orienting concepts, scenarios and prototypes of meaningful cross-sensory social play experiences inclusive of both BVI and sighted preschool age children.

What will you be doing?

You will explore co-design approaches to establish requirements for cross-sensory social play technology targeting the early motor, cognitive and social development of preschool age children.

You will use child-centred design methodologies, contextual inquiries, design research, iterative co-design and prototyping, and case study evaluation.

You should apply if

You are interested in designing novel interactive cross-sensory technology using a range of design methodologies, and in collaborating with engineers, experimental psychologists, and if you are:

• Passionate about inclusive design and accessibility, particularly in contexts involving children and diverse abilities.
• Experienced in co-design methods, especially with children and disabled communities. Motivated to conduct rigorous HCI research and publish in leading venues.
• Curious about cross-sensory interaction and early childhood development.
• Collaborative and excited to work in an interdisciplinary research team.

Additional information

To find out more about what it's like to work in the Faculty of Engineering, and how the Faculty supports people to achieve their potential, please see our staff blog:

https://engineering.blogs.bristol.ac.uk/category/engineering-includes-me/

Contract type: Open ended with fixed funding until 30/04/2028

This advert will close at 23:59 UK time on Sunday 12th April.

Shortlisting will take place on Monday 13th April.

Interviews are expected to take place on Monday 20th April.

For informal queries please contact: Oussama Metatla (o.metatla@bristol.ac.uk)