Job Description

A position exists for a Research Associate in the Department of Engineering to work on the development of a low-complexity optical intersatellite terminal.


The post holder will be located in West Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, UK.


The key responsibilities and duties are:


Develop professional technical documents and reports as formal deliverables to the European Space Agency (ESA). Prepare research outputs for presentation at conferences and publication in peer-reviewed journals. Manage own research and administrative activities, with guidance where required. Assist in the preparation of proposals for follow-on phases of the project. Communicate research findings and technical material of a specialist or highly technical nature. May provide limited supervision and instruction to PhD and Master's students. Build and maintain internal and external contacts and participate in research networks to exchange information and support future collaborations. Oversee and monitor progress of project activities. Plan the effective use of research resources, laboratories, and workshop facilities as appropriate.

The skills, qualifications and experience required to perform the role are:


1) Holds a PhD in a relevant specialist subject r possesses significant industrial experience in free-space optical communications and photonics.


2) Demonstrates a strong track record in free-space optics (FSO), photonics, and/or the integration of FSO technologies into satellite applications.


3) Presents research plans that demonstrate the potential to make a significant contribution to the objectives of the project.


4) Possesses excellent presentation, organisational, and problem-solving skills.


5) Has experience with satellite and non-terrestrial networks, as well as optical free-space systems, including both hardware (e.g. lasers, photodetectors, fast steering mirrors, spatial light modulators, passive optical elements, arbitrary waveform generators, high-speed oscilloscopes) and software tools (e.g. MATLAB, Python, OpticStudio).


6) Has experience in developing free-space optical (FSO) proof-of-concept prototypes.


Salary Range: Research Associate: GBP 37,694 - GBP 46,049


Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available until 30 September 2026 in the first instance.



Please ensure that you upload your Curriculum Vitae (CV), publication list, and a covering letter in the Upload section of the online application. If you upload any additional documents which have not been requested, we will not be able to consider these as part of your application. Please submit your application by midnight on the closing date.


If you have any questions about this vacancy, please contact Dr Iman Tavakkolnia at it360@cam.ac.uk for queries of a technical nature related to the role and Ms Chloe Wong at wyw30@cam.ac.uk for queries related to the application process.


Please quote reference NM48674 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.


The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.


The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.



Key information


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Department/location

Department of Engineering


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Salary

37,694-46,049


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Reference

NM48674


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Category

Research


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Date published

28 January 2026


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Closing date

12 February 2026