Job Description

Ref Number

B04-06669

Professional Expertise

Research and Research Support

Department

UCL BEAMS (B04)

Location

London

Working Pattern

Full time

Salary

43,981-52,586

Contract Type

Fixed-term

Working Type

On site

Available for Secondment

No

Closing Date

14-Nov-2025

About us

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The Chemistry Department at University College London is the oldest in England, and today is one of the best in the UK, being ranked 3rd in the UK for its world-leading research in REF2021. We are located in Bloomsbury, at the heart of London, and offer an exciting and vibrant environment in which to study in one of the UK's top universities.



The Department of Chemistry at UCL is committed to supporting excellence in both research and teaching. The department offers undergraduate BSc and MSci programmes in Chemistry and currently teaches ~750 undergraduates registered in Chemistry as well as students who select Chemistry on the Natural Sciences programme and first year Chemistry for life scientists. The department also offers a number of Postgraduate Taught Masters courses with about 80 students per year and has an overall PGR student school of about 200 students.



The Chemistry Department has over 60 members of academic staff carrying out world-leading research. We specialise in the areas of organic synthesis, chemical biology, computational chemistry, nanotechnology, inorganic and materials chemistry, physical chemistry and chemical physics. The department has an annual research income of around 15 million, derived from many sources including the Research Councils (EPSRC, BBSRC, MRC, and NERC), European Commission and a wide range of charities and industrial partners in the UK, Europe and the USA.



Details about our research can be found on the departmental website http://www.ucl.ac.uk/chemistry

About the role

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The post is part of the COSMOS Programme Grant, a multi-site research project funded by the EPSRC. The project also involves groups at Bristol, Oxford, Newcastle, Leeds and Warwick and aims to develop computational methods to study photo-initiated molecular dynamics. The project also has a focus on linking the simulations to experimental observables of relevance to time-resolved experiments using lasers and new light sources.



The posthholder will be required to carry out research into:


Developing and implementing Quantum Dynamics algorithms for non-adiabatic.

Studying the photo-activated non-adiabatic photochemistry of prototypical chromophores.

Simulating measurable signals from time-resolved spectroscopy.

About you

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The successful candidate will have a PhD degree (or be about to be awarded a PhD) in Chemistry, Physics, or similar subject. A knowledge of quantum mechanics and quantum chemical methods for excited state calculations is required, as well as experience with HPC and programming. Experience with Fortran Programming is desirable. They will be expected to work in a highly multidisciplinary collaborative team, and have effective verbal and written communication skills in English.

What we offer

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As well as the exciting opportunities this role presents, we also offer some great benefits some of which are below:


41 Days holiday (27 days annual leave 8 bank holiday and 6 closure days)

Additional 5 days' annual leave purchase scheme

Defined benefit career average revalued earnings pension scheme (CARE)

Cycle to work scheme and season ticket loan

Immigration loan

Relocation scheme for certain posts

On-Site nursery

On-site gym

Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption pay

Employee assistance programme: Staff Support Service

Discounted medical insurance


Visit https://www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/rewards-and-benefits to find out more.

Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

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As London's Global University, we know diversity fosters creativity and innovation, and we want our community to represent the diversity of the world's talent.



We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong. We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented in UCL's workforce. These include people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds; disabled people; LGBTQI+ people; and for our Grade 9 and 10 roles, women.



At UCL Chemistry we are dedicated to the Athena SWAN Charter for women in science, recognising the commitment to advancing women's careers in science, technology, engineering, maths and medicine (STEMM) employment in higher education and research.



The department was successfully awarded a Bronze Award in 2016 and Silver Award in 2020, in recognition of our commitment to advancing gender equality.