Postdoctoral Research Associate in Solar Radiation Management
Edinburgh - Central Area, Midlothian, United Kingdom (Hybrid working)
Job Information
* Job Identification 14012
* Locations Edinburgh - Central area, Edinburgh - Central area, EH8 9YL, GB (Hybrid working)
* Organization Edinburgh University Group
* Department GeoSciences
* Apply Before 06/15/2026, 10:59 PM
* Exception for not advertising internal only (if applicable) Expertise aligned to a restricted grant funded position
* Health and Safety Requirements No key hazards identified for this post
* Criminal Record Check No criminal record check required
* Contract Type Fixed Term
* Work Duration Months 24
* Job Schedule Full time
* Grade UE07
* Number of Openings 1
* Job Function Researcher
Job Description
College of Science and Engineering / School of GeoSciences
Full‑time: 35 hours per week
Fixed‑term: for 24 months, with start date of 1st September 2026, or as soon as possible thereafter
The University of Edinburgh is a world‑class, research‑intensive institution. We offer a supportive working environment, excellent facilities, and opportunities for professional development within a diverse and international community.
The Opportunity:
This is an Academic Research (Postdoctoral Research Associate) opportunity within the School of GeoSciences.
We seek a postdoctoral research associate (PDRA) for a 24‑month position to work on the UK NERC‑funded grant “Quantifying Efficacy and risks of solar radiation management (SRM) approaches using natural analogues”. The project will use novel machine‑learning‑based methods to determine the climate response to a range of natural events (e.g., wildfires, volcanic eruptions) which can be used as analogues of SRM to provide evidence for informing model improvement without worry about the risks of field experiments. The derived large‑scale observational constraints will be used to constrain and advance climate models, and to attribute climate response to SRM.
This position will target a critical problem in climate modelling to improve cloud scheme that contributes one of the most important uncertainties in climate projections (Wang et al 2026, Nature Communications). Wang et al (2026) found that climate models largely underestimated cloud cover response to aerosol perturbation, pointing a key direction for improving climate projections. You will work closely with a Scientist at ETH Zurich to apply a new Neural Network‑Based Cloud Fraction scheme into UKESM (UK Earth System Model) and design sensitivity experiments to test its effect, and lead the further improvement of cloud fraction scheme for climate simulations.
This post is full‑time (35 hours per week), however, we are open to considering part‑time or flexible working patterns. We are also open to considering requests for hybrid working (on a non‑contractual basis) that combines a mix of remote and regular on‑campus working.
Your skills and attributes for success:
* PhD in a highly quantitative subject, such as, but not limited to, atmospheric or climate science, meteorology, physics, earth observation.
* Expertise in working with climate modelling, ideally experience with model development with FORTRAN.
* Good programming skills in a data processing and visualization language such as Python, MATLAB, R or NCL.
* Proven ability to work both independently and as part of a team.
* Experience of disseminating findings through scientific publications and conference presentations.
Please upload your CV, cover letter, and a Personal Statement detailing your motivation and how your experience meets the requirements.
* An exciting, positive, creative, challenging and rewarding place to work.
* To be part of a diverse and vibrant international community.
* Comprehensive Staff Benefits, including generous annual leave entitlement, a defined benefits pension scheme, a wide range of staff discounts, family‑friendly initiatives, and flexible work options. Check out the full list on our staff benefits page and use our reward calculator to discover the value of your pay and benefits.
Prior to any employment commencing with the University, you will be required to evidence your right to work in the UK. Further information is available on our right to work webpages.
Closing date for applications is 15th June 2026.
Interviews will be held in June/July 2026.
About Us
As a world‑leading research‑intensive University, we are here to address tomorrow’s greatest challenges. Between now and 2030 we will do that with a values‑led approach to teaching, research and innovation, and through the strength of our relationships, both locally and globally.
About the Team
The School of GeoSciences explores the factors and forces that shape our world. The School aims to understand the world through fundamental curiosity‑driven research and to support prescient decision‑making at individual to global scales. We undertake world‑leading research; offer new ways of understanding natural and social drivers of change; provide inter‑and trans‑disciplinary solutions; and work in partnership to improve livelihoods and explore ways to manage the environment that are both sustainable and socially equitable.
With over 500 academics, researchers and research students, we are the largest and most successful interdisciplinary grouping of geoscientists and geographers in the UK. Research activity is coordinated within three main Research Institutes – Global Change, Earth and Planetary Science, and Geography and the Lived Environment – and within smaller research groupings that reach across and beyond the School.
A distinctive feature of the School is the combination of academic strength, intellectual breadth and societal relevance. Our interdisciplinary research and teaching builds on established core disciplines (ecology, environmental sciences, geography, geophysics, meteorology, oceanography) to provide a variety of approaches to understanding the world (including, for example, system‑scale modelling, process studies and the development of urban and social theory). The School’s research covers fundamental ‘blue‑skies’ questions, as well as having application to key societal challenges including inequality and vulnerability, urban precarity, nature and cultural meaning, development and sustainability, climate and environmental change, energy, food and water security, health and wellbeing, natural resources, and natural hazards.
The School of GeoSciences aims to recognise and value diversity in our staff and students, and to support flexible and family‑friendly working.
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