Job Description
Grade UE07: £41,064 to £48,822 per annum
CSE, School of Geosciences
Full Time: 35 hours per week
Fixed term: 7 months
The Opportunity
We seek a 7-month postdoctoral research associate (PDRA) to work on the UK NERC-funded project Fjord Dynamics and Modulation of Ice/Ocean Exchange (FjordMIX). The PDRA will play a leading role in the development and validation of reduced physics models of heat and freshwater exchange in Greenland's glacial fjords.
FjordMIX aims to advance our understanding of the interaction of the Greenland Ice Sheet with the ocean through the development of a fjord box modelling framework and its application on an ice-sheet wide scale. The project runs and is a collaboration between the University of St Andrews (PI Tom Cowton), University of Edinburgh (co-I Donald Slater) and Scottish Association for Marine Science, Oban (co-I Mark Inall). The PDRA will therefore primarily work with Donald Slater but will also interact closely with the other members of the FjordMIX team.
At this stage of the project, we have a published box model, and the PDRA will therefore work primarily on application of the box model in idealised or real-world settings, to quantify at a continental scale the role of fjords in ocean heat delivery to the ice and/or freshwater release to the ocean.
This post is full time; however, we are open to considering flexible working patterns and requests for hybrid working (on a non-contractual basis) that combines a mix of remote and regular on-campus working.
The University of Edinburgh is a world-class organisation. We look for the best in the field across all disciplines and provide a working environment where academics can develop their careers and passion for their chosen subject area. We are part of a local community and a contributor to global thinking, progress and research. In Edinburgh, you are in one of the world's most attractive cities with active arts and social sectors, while working in a University that has made significant contributions to society, medicine, physics and teaching for over four centuries. Our people have helped create the modern world and are working on more ground-breaking technologies and practices.
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How to apply
Please Include The Following Documents In Your Application
CV (max 3 pages).
Cover letter, describing your motivation and summarising your skills/experience relevant to the role.
As a valued member of our team, you can expect:
A competitive salary.
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.
Championing equality, diversity, and inclusion
The University of Edinburgh holds a Silver Athena SWAN award in recognition of our commitment to advance gender equality in higher education. We are members of the Race Equality Charter, and we are also Stonewall Scotland Diversity Champions, actively promoting LGBT equality. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates and particularly encourage applications from groups historically underrepresented in research and academia. The project team are committed to creating an inclusive, respectful, and supportive environment where all members can thrive and can have a healthy work-life balance.
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
The University may be able to sponsor the employment of international workers in this role. This will depend on a number of factors specific to the successful applicant.
Key dates to note
The closing date for applications is 5 March 2026.
Unless stated otherwise the closing time for applications is 11:59pm UK time. If you are applying outside the UK the closing time on our adverts automatically adjusts to your browsers local time zone. We aim to hold interviews in mid-March.
Interview dates to be confirmed.
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.
More details about the School is available from