Job Description

Job number

ENG03542

Faculties

Faculty of Engineering

Departments

Dyson School of Design Engineering

Salary or Salary range

48,056 - 56,345 per annum

Location/campus

South Kensington Campus - Hybrid

Contract type work pattern

Part time - Fixed term

Posting End Date

30 Jun 2025

About the role

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Applications are invited for a part-time (0.4 FTE) Research Associate position in Digital Musical Instrument Design and Analysis to work on a research project investigating the cultural implications of engineering decisions in the area of music technology.



The successful candidate will be based in the Dyson School of Design Engineering at Imperial College London, where they will join the Augmented Instruments Laboratory (http://instrumentslab.org). They will work on the UKRI-funded Consolidator Grant "RUDIMENTS: Reflective Understanding of Digital Instruments as Musical Entanglements", which examines the values, opportunities, risks and challenges of designing new musical instruments incorporating embedded computing and artificial intelligence, with a particular focus on research engagement with and dissemination to academic communities, musicians and the general public.

What you would be doing

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You will work on Work Package 5 of the RUDIMENTS project: "Rich media dissemination: instrument design as artistic conversation". In this role, you will work closely with musicians and technologists to design, deploy and evaluate new music technologies and to plan and deliver research activities such as conferences, workshops and symposia. You will also help lead an effort to launch a new rich-media publication platform for digital musical instrument research. You will contribute to research papers and non-academic forms of dissemination.

What we are looking for

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We are looking for an experienced PhD-level researcher who is comfortable designing and deploying digital musical instruments or sound installations, and who also has professional experience as a musician or sound artist. To be able to readily contribute to project dissemination, the ideal candidate should be familiar with current literature in musical instrument design, third-wave or entanglement HCI, and related fields such as philosophy or phenomenology.



Some essential requirements:


Hold a PhD in (or equivalent research, industrial or commercial experience) in a relevant discipline, including human-computer interaction (HCI), electronic engineering, design engineering, science and technology studies (STS), music composition/performance, musicology or anthropology. (E) Practical experience within a research environment and / or publication in relevant and refereed journals (E) Professional experience as a musician or sound artist, working with both traditional instruments and new technologies (E) Experience in producing public events such as exhibitions, performances or workshops (E) Experience in the design or creation of digital musical instruments or sound installations involving hardware and/or software. (E)

What we can offer you

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This position offers opportunity for career development at a world-leading institution and to work in an exciting interdisciplinary area combining engineering and the arts.



Imperial offers sector-leading dedicated career support for researchers as well as opportunities for promotion and progression; sector-leading salary and remuneration package including 39 days off a year (pro-rata for part time) and generous pension schemes; and a diverse, inclusive and collaborative work culture with various staff networks and resources to support your personal and professional wellbeing.

Further information

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This is a 0.4FTE (2 days per week), fixed-term position for 24 months.



The advertised salary is full-time. The actual salary is pro rata 0.4 FTE of the full-time salary.



For informal enquiries about the post, please contact Prof Andrew McPherson (email: andrew.mcpherson@imperial.ac.uk).

Available documents

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Attached documents are available under links. Clicking a document link will initialize its download.

Please note that job descriptions are not exhaustive, and you may be asked to take on additional duties that align with the key responsibilities mentioned above.

We reserve the right to close the advert prior to the closing date stated should we receive a high volume of applications. It is therefore advisable that you submit your application as early as possible to avoid disappointment.



If you encounter any technical issues while applying online, please don't hesitate to email us at support.jobs@imperial.ac.uk. We're here to help.

About Imperial

Welcome to Imperial, a global top ten university where scientific imagination leads to world-changing impact.



Join us and be part of something bigger. From global health to climate change, AI to business leadership, here at Imperial we navigate some of the world's toughest challenges. Whatever your role, your contribution will have a lasting impact.



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This is your chance to help shape the future. We hope you'll join us at Imperial College London.

Our Culture

We work towards equality of opportunity, to eliminating discrimination, and to creating an inclusive working environment for all. We encourage applications from all backgrounds, communities and industries, and are committed to employing a team that has diverse skills, experiences and abilities. You can read more about our commitment on our webpages.



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