NCEO Research Associate in Tropical Methane

Vacancy terms: Full-time or job share, fixed term contract to 31 May 2028

Salary details: Grade 7 - £39,355 to £45,413 per annum, pro rata if part-time

Hours per week: 37.5

About the role

The Carbon-Climate Science Team in the Earth Observation Science (EOS) group at University of Leicester is seeking to appoint a Research Associate based in the School of Physics and Astronomy. The successful candidate will work under the supervision of Dr Robert Parker and will contribute fully to the large portfolio of research conducted by the team.

This role is fully supported by Dr Parker’s UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship, where you will join his team in developing “The First Environmental Digital Twin Dedicated to Understanding Tropical Wetland Methane Emissions for Improved Predictions of Climate Change”. In particular, the successful candidate will help contribute to better understanding and improving the representation of wetlands and their subsequent methane emissions in the JULES Land Surface Model and the implementation of that within the UK Earth System Model, enabling more accurate future climate predictions.

The post holder will also be a member of the National Centre for Earth Observation. The National Centre for Earth Observation (NCEO) is a distributed centre with over 100 scientists from UK institutions, led by Professor John Remedios at the University of Leicester. With an annual income of over £8 million per year, half derived from Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), it provides a national capability in Earth observation science and incorporates world-class capabilities in interpretive Earth observation to meet the needs of society through long-term core science and translation of knowledge and environmental data for government and business.

Thanks to support from the Future Leaders Fellowship and a substantial training budget, this position offers exceptional opportunities for enhanced career development. This is expected to include dedicated time as a Visiting Researcher at Project Partners (including UK Met Office, UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology and European Space Agency) alongside opportunities to present results at local and international conferences and science meetings, write high-impact scientific publications as lead or co-author, contribute to the science of other studies being carried out in the Earth Observation Science Group and throughout NCEO, and supervise undergraduate project students.

About you

With a PhD in a relevant subject (or soon to obtain one), such as environmental science with a physics, maths or geography background, you will have experience working with land surface model data and conducting research into hydrological or carbon cycle modelling, ideally focused on methane emissions. You will have good Python knowledge and familiarity working with large environmental data sets in a HPC environment. You will have experience communicating research results at conferences, alongside a good or emerging publication record with significant contributions to peer-reviewed papers and early evidence of working towards driving your own research. We are looking for a self-starter with a flexible approach to work, as well as experience of collaborative, interdisciplinary or cross-disciplinary research.

Additional information

Informal enquiries are welcome and can be made to Dr Robert Parker on rjp23@le.ac.uk

As part of the University’s ongoing commitment to professional development, this role will also be considered on a seconded basis for existing staff members. Please ensure this is discussed with your line manager prior to applying. 

Advert closes midnight on: 04 May 2025

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