Senior Research Associate in the School of Social Sciences, Lancaster University (fixed term contract for two years).

The School of Social Sciences seeks to appoint a post-doctoral researcher (fixed term contract for two years) to work in the Brain and Bilingual Experiences Lab (BaBEL). The successful candidate will join a vibrant and productive lab (BaBEL), which is one of two labs in the Multilingualism and Cognition (M&C) research group within the Linguistics and English Language (LAEL) discipline.  The successful candidate will work most directly under the supervision of Prof. Jason Rothman and Prof. Patrick Rebuschat, who co-lead the M&C research group.

The successful candidate will hold a PhD in Linguistics (specialization in Psycho- or Neurolinguistics), Psychology (specializing in language and/or bi-/multilingualism), Cognitive (Neuro)Science or a cognate area and will be able to demonstrate excellence in research commensurate with their experience. This should include an established or developing portfolio of research publications in high impact international journals, potentially also including experience in competitive grant submissions (or success), evidence of previous successful working (or leadership) in similar lab environments and providing academic support to colleagues. Candidates must have, and should detail, demonstrable experience with neuroimaging methods and analysis related to the neurobiology of language, linguistic processing, and/or neurocognitive adaptations associated with language experience. Ideally, the candidate will have applied this skill set in research related to bi-/multilingualism. Candidates must have, and should detail, demonstrable experience with neuroimaging methods and analysis related to the neurobiology of language, linguistic processing, and/or neurocognitive adaptations associated with language experience.

Linguistics and English Language at Lancaster University is globally renowned, consistently ranked among the top departments globally in Linguistics and nationally among league tables (e.g., currently ranked 2^nd in the world in the 2026 QS rankings). It offers world-class undergraduate, postgraduate, and research programs exploring human language comprehensively and from complementary methods and theoretical perspectives.  

The School of Social Sciences brings together Linguistics with Criminology, Educational Research, Social Work, and Sociology, forming an inclusive, dynamic, and diverse research and teaching community.

Lancaster University is a highly ranked, research-led institution located in the historic city of Lancaster. The North West of England offers an excellent quality of life, with access to outstanding countryside, including the Lake District, and strong national and international transport links. For more reasons to work at Lancaster University, see - Jobs - Lancaster University.

Informal enquiries may be made to Prof. Jason Rothman – j.rothman@lancaster.ac.uk 

Closing Date: 26 Jul 2026

Department: Research

Salary: £39,906 to £46,049 (Full time, indefinite with end date)

The READ-IT project, funded by the ESRC, aims to monitor and predict how children learn to read between the ages of 5 and 7 applying computational models of reading development. The project will collect weekly data from primary school children learning to read and apply computational methods to automatically encode children’s speech, and track and predict children’s reading development over their early primary school years. The ultimate aim is to develop tools that can aid teachers to optimally support children’s individual reading journeys. The project spans expertise in the Department of Psychology and the School of Computing and Communications.

These posts involve visiting local primary schools on a daily basis and reading with children whilst recording their responses, transcribing the reading, and working with primary school teachers to work on ways to support children’s reading journey. The data will be collated and passed to other researchers in the team who will then apply the computational modelling techniques.

ABOUT YOU

You will:

• Have a degree in psychology, education, or a related discipline, and preferably also a postgraduate qualification.
• Have experience working in primary school settings, with teachers and/or children, preferably with experience in applying psychological tests.
• Have an interest in applying psychological knowledge to understand children’s reading development, and be aware of reading in the classroom context.
• Have background knowledge of issues relating to transcription of speech, preferably with background in phonetics or phonology.
• Be able to work effectively with primary school children and be able to attend school settings in the Lancaster area on a daily basis to read with children.
• Be able to deal with confidential data, and understand safeguarding, ethical and GDPR issues regarding working with children.
• Be willing to undergo enhanced DBS check.

THE BENEFITS OF THE ROLE

• Generous holiday leave - 25 days (pro-rata) annual leave plus University closure days and bank holidays.
• Access to employee pension scheme, and annual flexible benefits scheme.
• We are committed to promoting Equality, Diversity and Inclusion across the Faculty, and supporting family-friendly and flexible working policies on an individual basis. The Department of Psychology holds an Athena Swan Silver Award, which recognises and celebrates good employment practice undertaken to address gender equality in Higher Education and research.  

Closing Date: 17 Jul 2026

Department: Research

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

The School of Mathematical Sciences at Lancaster University is seeking to appoint a Senior Research Associate (SRA) to work within ‘MARS: Mathematics for AI in Real-world Systems’, contributing to the NERC-funded project ‘IceDice: Predicting the stochastic behaviour of West Antarctica’s Marine Ice Sheet’. 

About the role

The IceDice project aims to provide reliable probabilistic forecasts of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet’s contribution to future sea level rise – information of enormous societal and economic value for coastal planning and climate adaptation worldwide. 

Your research will develop and apply novel Bayesian machine learning methods – in particular physics-informed Gaussian processes and/or neural operators– to build accurate probability density functions (PDFs) of future Antarctic sea level contributions.  

Working as part of a collaborative team spanning British Antarctic Survey and the University of Cambridge, you will be based at Lancaster and work with Dr Henry Moss to:

• Develop machine learning emulators for the WAVI ice-sheet model to serve as efficient surrogates for large-scale Bayesian inference.
• Develop utility-function-based experimental design methods to identify the computer simulations and observational surveys that maximise information about future sea level for a given computational cost.
• Work closely with ice-sheet modellers at the British Antarctic Survey to apply probabilistic methods to realistic West Antarctic domains.
• Publish high-quality research in leading peer-reviewed journals and present at national and international conferences. 

What we’re looking for

• PhD in statistics, machine learning, physics or a closely related discipline.
• Research experience in Bayesian methods, probabilistic modelling, or scientific machine learning. 
• Experience with Gaussian processes, MCMC methods, or uncertainty quantification for expensive computational simulators.
• An interest in applying mathematical methods to real-world environmental challenges, and willingness to collaborate across disciplinary boundaries.
• Experience with Python, or equivalent scientific computing languages. 

The IceDice project connects you to a world-leading collaborative team at the British Antarctic Survey and the University of Cambridge, with opportunities to engage with high-profile climate science and policy impact.

Candidates who are considering making an application are strongly encouraged to contact Dr Henry Moss (h.moss@lancaster.ac.uk) to discuss the role.

This is a full-time, fixed-term position for 22 months or until 31/08/2028 (whichever comes first). Flexible working arrangements will be considered, but you will be expected to be present on the Lancaster campus a minimum of two days per week.

Closing Date: 26 Jul 2026

Department: Research

Salary: £39,906 to £46,049 (Full time, indefinite with end date)

Operating within a Linux ecosystem,  a successful candidate will be working alongside the existing team of Research Infrastructure Engineers and wider communities engaged in distributed computing projects across the UK and beyond. Engagement in collaboration with and within these communities will be a key focus of the role.

Typical responsibilities will be engaging in software, middleware, cybersecurity and hardware maintenance of the storage and compute systems over their lifecycle, as well as engaging in the planning and development of the ongoing evolution of provided services.  

On a typical day the candidate will be required to respond and react to reported or detected operational issues, following up any incident by identifying and taking steps to prevent future occurrences of the issue.

We would like to hear from candidates with a strong technical aptitude and a degree in a science or computing based subject, with keen problem solving skills, and the ability to communicate problems and solutions with others.

For informal inquiries please contact Matt Doidge: m.doidge@lancaster.ac.uk

Closing Date: 14 Jul 2026

Department: Research

Salary: £33,002 to £37,694 full time, fixed term

Most private family law applications are between two parents, but around 10% involve one or more adults who are not the child’s parent, such as grandparents, aunts/uncles and siblings. This ‘forgotten 10%’ have been overlooked in research, policy and practice. In collaboration with researchers at the University of Bristol, peer researchers, and practice partners Kinship and Families in Harmony, this project will investigate the circumstances, needs and experiences of children and families involved. Further information on the project is available on our website (https://www.cfj-lancaster.org.uk/projects/forgotten-ten-percent).

Working as an integral part of the project team, and alongside another researcher based in Bristol, you will be responsible for undertaking qualitative interviews and focus groups, collecting structured data from court case files, and data analysis. You must be willing to travel within the UK, to attend meetings and other events, and to collect data.

You should be able to demonstrate a keen interest in the applied focus of the Centre, and will have a PhD in a social science discipline or equivalent experience.  Ideally you will have a research background in social work, law, social policy, or another relevant field, and experience in mixed-methods research. You will demonstrate excellent organisational and interpersonal skills and preferably have a knowledge of research ethics. You will contribute to outputs from the project, including research reports and summaries, journal articles, and conference/seminar presentations, for a variety of different audiences, including academics, policymakers, legal and social work practitioners.

The post is available at 0.8FTE. You will join us on an indefinite contract however, the role remains contingent on external funding which, at this time is due to come to an end in February 2027 pending further funding to extend. This role is subject to DBS checks.

The Centre for Child and Family Justice Research is a successful research centre with a global profile, and we are looking for an individual who wants to be an integral part of this vibrant community. Current sources of funding include the Nuffield Foundation, the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory, Economic and Social Research Council, Big Lottery, the Australian Research Council, local and national government.

If you would like further information and an opportunity to discuss the role, please contact: Dr Linda Cusworth on (l.cusworth@lancaster.ac.uk).

Closing Date: 13 Jul 2026

Department: Research

Salary: £39,906 to £46,049 (Part-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)

We seek to appoint 1 full-time post-doctoral research associate (starting Summer 2026) to complete a team of 4 researchers who are exploring novel concepts for security controls and assurance in converged and ultra-large scale infrastructures.

The successful candidate for this role will develop new techniques for orchestrating security controls in dynamic and complex systems undergoing frequent changes to their function and security requirements. This work will involve researching how to introduce interactions between security controls to achieve security goals and exploring the trade-offs of doing so. We seek to appoint a researcher who has either experience in abstract modelling of distributed systems or practical experience deploying and experimenting with security controls.

As a Programme Grant there is considerable flexibility in this research agenda. This allows the right candidate to have a significant ability to direct their research activities. This is a great opportunity for an individual to build their research career.

Key duties of this post include:

• Conducting original research to orchestrate security in future complex distributed systems.
• Developing high quality and impactful publications.
• Collaborating with academic, industry partners and other EPSRC projects.

 The successful candidate will have a PhD in Computer Science or equivalent with experience in cyber security or distributed systems.

The School of Computing and Communications at Lancaster University offers a highly inclusive and stimulating environment for career development, and you will be exposed to a range of further opportunities over the course of this post. We are committed to family-friendly and flexible working policies, as well as the Athena SWAN Charter, which recognises and celebrates good employment practice undertaken to address gender equality in higher education and research.

You will join us on an indefinite contract; however, the role remains contingent on external funding, which for these roles initially ends after 24 months (with the possibility to extend further).

The candidates will be working under the direct supervision of Prof. Neeraj Suri (neeraj.suri@lancaster.ac.uk)  and Dr. Matthew Bradbury (m.s.bradbury@lancaster.ac.uk). We welcome enquires prior to the submission of an application!

Closing Date: 01 Sep 2026

Department: Research

Salary: £39,355 to £45,413 (Full time, indefinite with end date)