"Researcher (HILO Blenheim Palace project)"

Step into the heart of heritage innovation at one of the world’s most iconic sites. The Heritage Innovations Lab Oxford (HILO) is seeking a talented and creative researcher to join the Digital Twins for Heritage project at Blenheim Palace. Working alongside Professor Heather Viles and Dr Sterling Mackinnon, you’ll bring your predictive modelling expertise to explore how environmental conditions drive stone decay — helping shape the future of conservation through data and digital insight.

This is your chance to combine cutting-edge research with real-world impact. You’ll help advance digital twin technology for heritage science, collaborate with Blenheim Palace’s on-site innovation team, and contribute to new tools that quantify risk and inform sustainable preservation.

We’re looking for a researcher with a PhD/DPhil, strong analytical and coding skills, and a passion for interdisciplinary collaboration. If you have experience in modelling, data science, or heritage science — and a drive to turn research into meaningful action — we’d love to hear from you.

Contact for informal inquires: Dr Sterling Mackinnon – sterling.mackinnoniii@ouce.ox.ac.uk

Apply now and help shape the future of digital heritage.

This post is fixed-term for 6 months and offered on a full time basis (1 FTE / 37.5 hours)

What We Offer

As an employer, we genuinely care about our employees’ well-being, and this is reflected in the range of benefits that we offer including:

• An excellent contributory pension scheme
• 38 days annual leave
• A comprehensive range of childcare services
• Family leave schemes
• Cycle loan scheme
• Discounted bus travel and Season Ticket travel loans.

All applications must include a CV, Supporting Statement/Cover Letter.

For further guidance and support, please visit https://www.jobs.ox.ac.uk/how-to-apply.

Any technical questions related to this vacancy can be sent to: recruit@ouce.ox.ac.uk

The closing date for applications is 12.00 noon on 9 January 2026. Only applications submitted by this time will be considered.

The University of Oxford and The School of Geography and the Environment are Silver Athena SWAN holders. Applications are particularly welcome and encouraged from women, black, and minority ethnic candidates, who are under-represented in posts in The School of Geography and the Environment. The School of Geography and the Environment are committed to equality and values diversity