Research Associate

University of York - School of Physics, Engineering and Technology

Location: York

Salary: £37,694 to £46,049 per year

Hours: Full Time

Contract Type: Fixed-Term/Contract

Placed On: 2nd April 2026

Closes: 12th May 2026

Job Ref: 14899

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 silver 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 seeking a Postdoctoral Research Associate specialising in advanced environmental electron microscopy to join the team at the Jeol York Nanocentre, a world-leading facility specialising in environmental electron microscopy at atomic resolution. The post is part of the project ‘Uncovering a Catalyst in action at the Atomic Level (U-CAL): a shortcut to net-zero technologies’ an EPSRC International Centre-to-Centre Collaboration Network that includes Universities of York, Nottingham and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf Dresden, Germany. This role will be based at the York Jeol Nanocenter.

This project aims to visualise active sites in functioning catalysts under real reaction conditions and in real time. The successful candidate will contribute to a broad range of experimental investigations, modelling, and data analysis. This includes operando atomic-scale imaging and local probe spectroscopy of heterogeneous catalysts in action. The overarching goal is to understand how electron dose, substrate support, and other external stimuli influence the atomic structure of nano catalysts, ultimately determining their efficiency. Examples of reactions to be studied include, but not limited to, high-efficiency catalysts for CO₂ hydrogenation and ammonia synthesis. This role offers an initial 24-month appointment with the possibility of up to an additional 24-month extension. You will work with advanced instrumentation and develop workflows for image processing and object tracking to reveal the structure of reactive intermediates. You will also collaborate closely with national and international partners.

Skills, Experience & Qualification needed

You will have:

• A PhD in Physics, Chemistry, Materials Science or related subject.
• Experience in the operation of transmission electron microscopes and in environmental electron microscopy
• Strong analytical skills and experience with data interpretation, simulations, and/or modelling.
• A track record of high-quality peer-reviewed publications.
• Excellent communications skills.

Interview date: To be confirmed

For informal enquiries: Dr Demie Kepaptsoglou on (demie.kepaptsoglou@york.ac.uk) or Prof Vlado Lazarov (vlado.lazarov@york.ac.uk)