We are seeking to appoint a (Senior) Post-doctoral Research Associate for the Lancaster ATLAS group starting from the first of July 2026 or as soon as possible thereafter.   

The Lancaster ATLAS group is composed of five academic staff, with associated Ph.D. students, supported by postdoctoral researchers. It is active on data analysis in the Standard Model, Higgs, Top, and B-Physics and light states working groups, as well as making major contributions to ATLAS Computing and Data Preparation activities. You are expected to play a key role in precision measurements in top quark or single vector boson production final states together with Lancaster Ph.D. students. In parallel, you are expected to participate in computing or data preparation activities, as well as combined performance studies appropriate to the analysis work. 

Role responsibilities

As part of our ATLAS group, your duties will include: 

• Analysis of data from the ATLAS experiment
• Studies for an ATLAS Combined performance group and technical work in the ATLAS Computing or Data Preparation areas.
• Supporting supervision of Lancaster Ph.D. students working on the ATLAS experiment.  
• Supervising or co-supervising summer and/or undergraduate projects working with the Lancaster ATLAS group. 
• Providing input to grant applications supporting ATLAS experiment work at Lancaster.
• Writing internal ATLAS documentation of your work.
• Publishing results in leading, peer-reviewed academic journals.
• Presenting results at international conferences, ATLAS meetings (virtually and/or in person) and Lancaster group meetings.

About you

We are keen to hear from candidates who have:

• A PhD (or close to completion) in experimental particle physics.
• Experience of analysing data from particle physics experiments.
• Experience working with teams of experimental physicists within international collaborations.
• Excellent computing skills and familiarity with particle physics software.
• Excellent scientific communication and presentation skills  

Why work with us

Lancaster University is consistently ranked in the top 10 in the UK university league tables. It is located on a beautiful campus in the North-West of England close to the Lake District National Park.

The Department of Physics is committed to family-friendly and flexible working policies on an individual basis, as well as the Athena SWAN Charter, which recognises and celebrates good employment practice undertaken to address gender equality in higher education and research. We are also strongly committed to fostering diversity within our community as a source of excellence, cultural enrichment, and social strength. We welcome those who would contribute to the further diversification of our department. 

Informal enquiries can be made to Dr James Ferrando (j.ferrando@lancaster.ac.uk) or Professor Roger Jones (roger.jones@lancaster.ac.uk) 

Closing Date: 07 Jul 2026

Department: Research

Salary: £33,002 to £37,694 (Full-Time/Indefinite with End Date)

The SuperICQ consortium is a recently funded EU Pathfinder Open project that aims to develop a host of superconducting electronics using this new process and to integrate these with superconducting qubits. At Lancaster we will be characterising individual junctions, designing and testing parametric amplifiers, characterising tuneable resonators and demonstrating multiplexed qubit readout. As a member of the consortium you will also collaborate with partners at VTT (Finland), Aalto (Finland) and Chalmers (Sweden).

Lancaster is a major player in superconducting quantum devices in the UK and benefits from extensive nanofabrication, cryogenic, and electronics infrastructure. You will work in the Quantum Technology Centre at the Physics Department of Lancaster University and will travel as necessary to liaise with project partners and to attend national and international workshops and conferences.

For information on our research interests: 

https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/physics/about-us/people/yuri-pashkin

https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/physics/about-us/people/jonathan-prance

https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/physics/about-us/people/michael-thompson

Funding is available to appoint to this post as soon as you are available. You will join us on an indefinite contract. However, the role remains contingent on external funding, which at this time is for 24 months with a possible extension of a further 12 months.

Lancaster University Physics Department is strongly committed to fostering diversity within its community as a source of excellence, cultural enrichment, and social strength. We welcome those who would contribute to the further diversification of our department.

Applicants may find information on Lancaster and the University here: https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/jobs/life-at-lancaster/

Informal enquiries can be made to Dr Michael Thompson (m.thompson@lancaster.ac.uk).

Closing Date: 01 Aug 2026

Department: Research

Salary: £39,906 to £46,049 (Full-Time/Indefinite with End Date)