Research Fellow in Cosmology with Transients

School of Physics and Astronomy

University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £37,369 to £46,970 with potential progression once in post to £49,798

Grade: 7

Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to January 2030

Closing date: 25th November 2026

UK and International travel may be required for this role

The responsibilities may include some but not all of the responsibilities outlined below.

• Develop research objectives and proposals for own or joint research, with assistance of a mentor if required
• Contribute to writing bids for research funding
• Analyse and interpret data
• Work on telescope time proposals and ongoing survey programs for transient observations
• Work towards building a systematics controlled framework for measuring cosmology with lensed supernovae
• Apply knowledge in a way which develops new intellectual understanding
• Disseminate research findings for publication, research seminars etc
• Supervise students on research related work and provide guidance to PhD students where appropriate to the discipline
• Contribute to developing new models, techniques and methods
• Undertake management/administration arising from research
• Contribute to Departmental/School research-related activities and research-related administration
• Contribute to enterprise, business development and/or public engagement activities of manifest benefit to the College and the University, often under supervision of a project leader
• Collect research data; this may be through a variety of research methods, such as scientific experimentation, literature reviews, and research interviews
• Present research outputs, including drafting academic publications or parts thereof, for example at seminars, conference presentations and as posters
• Provide guidance, as required, to support staff and any students (with the possibility of supervising year 4 and PhD students) who may be assisting with the research
• Deal with problems that may affect the achievement of research objectives and deadlines
• Promotes equality and values diversity acting as a role model and fostering an inclusive working culture.

The University of Birmingham Astrophysics and Space Research group is looking for one or more postdoctoral research fellow to work on cosmology transient surveys and strong lensing. The position is open to work with the group of Dr. Suhail Dhawan on the UKRI/ERC project NGCOSMO.

The projects can include (but not limited to):

• Inference of H0 with strong gravitationally lensed supernovae
• The local distance ladder measurement of H0
• Dark energy inference with Supernovae
• Synergies between LSST and Euclid surveys

We are members of LSST and Euclid and the applicant will also have access to independent programs with SOAR, Liverpool telescope, GTC, VLT and 4MOST as well as JWST/HST programs as part of large and diverse international collaborations. There are ample supercomputing resources from both local and international collaborative facilities. The position comes with a generous allowance to cover travels to conferences and research visits, and guaranteed access to the university's high-performance supercomputer BlueBEAR. Additionally, the successful candidate will have the opportunity to supervise students, acquire teaching experience, participate in outreach activities, organize international meetings, and get any support or training needed for their personal and career development.

• PhD (or equivalent) in physics or a related field or being near to completion
• Strong record of research in astronomy, experience with time-domain astronomy appreciated but not required
• Ability to build relationships and collaborate with others
• Applications must include a CV, statement of past and future research (no more than 2 pages in total), a brief cover letter and arrange to have three recommendations to be sent by email to Nicola Holloway (n.holloway@bham.ac.uk) by the application deadline.

The School of Physics and Astronomy is a world-leading physics department, excelling in both research and teaching. It hosts over 130 academic and research staff, around 50 technical and support staff, and over 130 graduate students. Our physics research was recently ranked top in the UK for 4-star-category research by the national Research Excellence Framework 2021 exercise.
The School is an Institute of Physics Juno Champion since 2014 and holder of an Athena SWAN Silver Award. Both initiatives recognise the School's commitment to promote equality and diversity, and to encourage better practice for all members of the community, whilst also working towards developing an equitable working culture in which all staff can achieve their full potential. We welcome applications from all qualified applicants, but applications from traditionally under-represented groups in physics and astronomy, such as women and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic, are particularly encouraged.

• Work within specified research grants and projects and contribute to writing bids
• Operate within area of specialism
• Analyse and interpret research findings and results
• Contribute to generating funding
• Contribute to licensing or spin out deals with demonstrated commercial success (such as revenues, asset or company sales, IP generated) and/or public understanding of the discipline or similar

• First degree in area of specialism and normally, a higher degree relevant to research area or equivalent qualifications
• PhD in Physics or a related field or be on track for completion by the start date.
• Expertise in observations and theoretical modelling of strongly gravitationally lensed transients and their use in cosmology to measure the Hubble Constant
• High level analytical capability
• Ability to communicate complex information clearly
• Fluency in relevant models, techniques or methods and ability to contribute to developing new ones
• Ability to assess resource requirements and use resources effectively
• Understanding of and ability to contribute to broader management/administration processes
• Contribute to the planning and organising of the research programme and/or specific research project
• Co-ordinate own work with others to avoid conflict or duplication of effort
• Knowledge of the protected characteristics of the Equality Act 2010, and how to actively ensure in day to day activity in own area that those with protected characteristics are treated equally and fairly

Informal enquiries to Suhail Dhawan, email: s.dhawan@bham.ac.uk

Use of AI in applications: We want to understand your genuine interest in the role and for the written elements of your application to accurately reflect your own communication style. Applications that rely too heavily on AI tools can appear generic and lack the detail we need to assess your skills and experience. Such applications will unlikely be progressed to interview.

We believe there is no such thing as a 'typical' member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We are also committed to sustainability, which is a key part of our strategy. You can find out more about our work to create a fairer university for everyone on our website.