Job Description

The role

------------


This is an exciting opportunity for a skilled and motivated researcher to study the environmental impact of future video technology, the role that AI plays in it, and develop strategies to reduce it.



As part of our team and depending on experience, you will build on your existing knowledge of energy efficiency of AI and video communication and:


Develop life cycle models of the environmental impacts of current and future media services (e.g., real-time video, AI generated content). Identify hotspots, trends, and robust strategies for impact reduction. Investigate how AI transforms the digital media value chain and Collect new data from measurements of servers and devices

You will be part of the Sustainable Technology Lab (STL) and collaborate with our academic and industrial partners. We take a multidisciplinary approach, combining deep technical expertise with long-term sustainability thinking. STL is part of the Bristol Interaction Group (http://biglab.co.uk/labs/), a vibrant multidisciplinary research community of 11 academics and 40 postdoctoral researchers and students. Among our partners are leading media organisations from the DIMPACT consortium (dimpact.org).



In this technical role you will collaborate closely within the STL and with our partners and contribute to academic publications, open datasets, or policy recommendations. Through your experiments and study of trends in hardware and software energy efficiency you will build models and develop guidance for a range of stakeholders. Excellent professional communication skills are essential.



You will be part of a highly inclusive and supportive team, with training provided to support your needs and time allocated for professional development.

What will you be doing?

---------------------------


The role is offered full-time or part-time, and at Research Associate (RA) and Senior Research Associate (SRA) level.

Responsibilities

Conduct original research

on the environmental impacts of digital services, including AI and video streaming.

Implement

(RA) or

lead

(SRA) life cycle assessment modelling

Collaborate effectively

with engineers, designers, and business managers across the digital media value chain.

Support

(RA) or

lead

(SRA) development of carbon reduction strategies for industry, policy, and research stakeholders.

Contribute to

(RA) or

lead

(SRA) high-impact academic publications, open datasets, and policy outputs.

You should apply if

-----------------------

Qualifications:

RA

: A good honours degree (or equivalent) in a relevant field and demonstrable research experience.

SRA

: A PhD or equivalent expertise in AI, video communication, or a closely related area, combined with experience in assessing the environmental impacts of digital technologies.

Knowledge and Skills:

Understanding of web-service architectures

, including networking and servers.

Knowledge of environmental assessments

for digital services.

Excellent communication

and cross-disciplinary collaboration skills Track record of

contributing

(RA) or

leading

(SRA) high-impact academic outputs.

Desirable

Experience with life-cycle assessment (LCA) Experience in quantitative data analysis

Additional information

--------------------------

For informal queries please contact: Associate Professor of Computer Science - Daniel Schien - Daniel.Schien@bristol.ac.uk

To find out more about what it's like to work in the Faculty of Engineering, and how the Faculty supports people to achieve their potential, please see our staff blog:

https://engineering.blogs.bristol.ac.uk/category/engineering-includes-me/

Contract type: Open ended with fixed funding until 31/05/2027

Work pattern: Full time (Part time will be considered down to 0.7FTE)

Grade: I / J - Pathway 2

Salary: Grade I 39,906 - 44,746 per annum; Grade J 43,482 - 50,253 per annum pro rata

School/Unit: School of Computer Science

This advert will close

at

23:59 UK time

on 30/11/2025

The interviews are anticipated to take place on Thursday 11th December 2025

Our strategy and mission

----------------------------


We recently launched our strategy to 2030 tying together our mission, vision and values.

The University of Bristol aims to be a place where everyone feels able to be themselves and do their best in an

inclusive working environment where all colleagues can thrive and reach their full potential.

We want

to attract, develop, and retain individuals

with different experiences, backgrounds and perspectives - particularly people of colour, LGBT+ and disabled people - because diversity of people and ideas remains integral to our excellence as a global civic institution.


JOB NUMBER

ACAD108337

CONTRACT TYPE/WORK PATTERN

Open ended / Full or part time

POSTING END DATE

30 Nov 2025

FACULTY/DIVISION

Faculty of Science and Engineering

SALARY

Grade I 39,906 - 44,746; Grade J 43,482 - 50,253 per annum pro rata