Research Fellow on the Analysis of Cosmological Galaxy Surveys

About us

UCL is one of the world's top universities based in the heart of London. It is a modern, outward-looking institution. UCL's staff and former students have included 32 Nobel prizewinners. It is a truly international community: more than one-third of our student body – more than 35,000 strong – come from 150 countries and nearly one-third of staff are from outside the UK.

You will become part of a research group that has internationally leading roles in large galaxy surveys, including the ESA Euclid mission, the DESI spectroscopic survey, the Rubin Observatory, the Dark Energy Survey, and the ESO Kilo-Degree Survey. You will work in a vibrant environment with close links to experts in other areas of fundamental physics, astronomy, and space science, machine learning and data-intensive science, as well as advanced research computing.

About the role

The primary purpose of the position is to contribute to the Euclid Consortium’s delivery of high-quality science-ready data products as part of its Science Ground Segment. The UCL team has responsibility for high-level data products of Euclid’s primary photometric probes. Tasks will include the processing of Euclid data and simulations, validation and quality assessment of data products, and software development. This work fully counts towards the post holder’s publication rights in the Euclid Consortium. A small fraction of the time is available to join science analyses as part of Prof Joachimi’s ERC project, investigating the growth of cosmic structure with Euclid, DESI, and complementary datasets.

This position is funded by the UK Space Agency and UK Research and Innovation until September 30, 2026 in the first instance. The position may be extended subject to performance and continuation of funding.

About you

The successful applicant will have a PhD in Astrophysics or related areas by the time of the post start date. They will be able to demonstrate that they can conduct original research in cosmology to the highest standards and develop scientific code to a high standard.

They should be knowledgeable of the fundamentals of physical cosmology and be proficient in Python-based scientific computing.

Candidates should also have excellent written and verbal communication, and work productively in a collaborative research environment.

Experience with the analysis of large galaxy surveys is desirable

Appointment at Grade 7 is dependent upon having been awarded a PhD; if this is not the case, initial appointment will be a Research Assistant Grade 6B (salary £38,357 - £41,005 per annum, inclusive of London Allowance) with payment at Grade 7 being backdated to the date of final submission of the PhD thesis.

What we offer

As well as the exciting opportunities this role presents, we also offer great benefits. Please visit https://www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/rewards-and-benefits to find out more.

Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

We know diversity fosters creativity and innovation, and we want our community to represent the diversity of the world’s talent. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong.

We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented in UCL’s workforce. These include people from Black and ethnic minority backgrounds; disabled people; LGBTQI+ people; and women.

You can read more about our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion here: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/equality-diversity-inclusion/

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