Research Fellow

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 prize winners. 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.

Ariel is a space mission in European Space Agency (ESA)’s Cosmic Vision programme that will be launched in 2029. During its lifetime, Ariel will study what exoplanets are made of, how they are formed, and how they evolve, by surveying a diverse sample of about 1000 extrasolar planets simultaneously in visible and infrared wavelengths.

About the role

As part of the Ariel Space Mission preparation, we are seeking to fill the position of a Research Fellow.

The aim of the project is to perform large-scale simulations of Ariel target candidates to assess the mission capabilities to fulfil its science objectives. The postholder will work in close collaboration with Prof. Giovanna Tinetti, Principal Investigator of the Ariel space mission, and Dr. Theresa Lueftinger (ESA), Project Scientist of Ariel.

This position is funded for 6/7 months in the first instance until 14th November 2025.

Candidates will need to upload a CV (including a publication list), cover letter, a statement of research experience and interests (1-2 pages maximum), and the contact information for two references.

About you

The successful candidate will have or be about to obtain a PhD in Physics, Astrophysics or related subjects and an expertise in extrasolar planets.

Candidates will be expected to have a working knowledge of a structured programming language, ideally Python. Experience in modelling exoplanet atmospheres and using spectral retrieval algorithms will be essential.

Experience in the performance analysis of infrared space instrumentation for exoplanet observations, including photometric and spectroscopic data will also be essential.

Candidates should also have excellent written and verbal communication and the ability to work collaboratively in a research environment.

Having prior exposure in the performance analysis of Ariel and in simulating stellar activity will be 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 £38,607 - £41,255 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.

The Department has been awarded a Silver Athena Swan Award. Further information on Athena Swan is at: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/equality-diversity-inclusion/equality-areas/equality-charter-marks/athena-swan-ucl

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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