Research Fellow in Geosolutions: Subsurface Imaging and Uncertainty for Georesources

University of Leeds - Faculty of Environment - School of Earth and Environment - Institute of Geophysics and Tectonics (IGT)

Location: Leeds

Salary: £41,064 to £48,822 per annum (Grade 7)

Hours: Full Time

Contract Type: Fixed-Term/Contract

Placed On: 9th October 2025

Closes: 29th October 2025

Job Ref: ENVEE1842

This role will be based on the university campus, with scope for it to be undertaken in a hybrid manner. We are also open to discussing flexible working arrangements.

We are seeking a Research Fellow to fulfil a key role in our project to better understand how to build geophysical models of the subsurface which account for the uncertainty in current geophysical data, in order to assess the potential for sustainable energy production and resource use. You will be a key part of the Geosolutions Centre within the School of Earth and Environment at the University of Leeds and work closely with Dr Andy Nowacki. You will be part of a large interdisciplinary team of other PDRAs, PhDs and academic staff, and will collaborate closely with others in the University and elsewhere. You will work to address the challenges of climate change through understanding and using the solid Earth, including as part of the University’s Climate Plan.

You will research, use and build on existing methods to take data about the subsurface (seismic surveys, borehole data, geological mapping and other data) and produce estimates of the physical properties of the subsurface, and crucially, the associated uncertainty on those estimates. Initially, you will focus on geothermal resources in Iceland (Hengill) and Ethiopia (Aluto and Corbetti) using existing seismic data, building on provisional models. Next you will investigate how to incorporate magnetotelluric and other data, and you will appraise different approaches to properly testing hypotheses of subsurface processes. You will be responsible for leading the development of the approach, which could include transferring learning from other geographic regions and data types, machine learning methods, Bayesian inference and interrogation theory. The post may involve travel to Iceland and Italy in support of your work and attendance at international conferences, such as the European Geothermal Congress.

You will have a PhD, or be near to completing a PhD, in geophysics, geostatistics, physics, applied mathematics or a similar discipline with a strong background in data analysis or imaging as applied to the Earth. You will also have the ability to conduct independent research and evidence of peer-reviewed publications in international journals. In addition, you will have excellent communication, planning, and team working skills.

Please note that this post may be suitable for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker visa route but first-time applicants might need to qualify for salary concessions. For more information please visit: www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa.

For research and academic posts, we will consider eligibility under the Global Talent visa. For more information please visit: https://www.gov.uk/global-talent.