Job Description

Ref Number

B04-06511

Professional Expertise

Research and Research Support

Department

UCL BEAMS (B04)

Location

London

Working Pattern

Full time

Salary

See advert text

Contract Type

Fixed-term

Working Type

On site

Available for Secondment

No

Closing Date

25-Sep-2025

About us

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UCL's Department of Medical Physics & Biomedical Engineering is one of the longest-established and largest UK academic departments devoted to healthcare engineering. We have a highly multidisciplinary staff profile, including physicists, engineers, computer scientists, mathematicians, clinicians, chemists, and biologists. Our research is strongly focussed on clinical translation, and benefits from close collaborations with the UK's leading hospitals in London and beyond, which enables our research to be at the forefront of healthcare technology development. In addition to its research activities, we also run a variety of undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes.



Our department is home to the Biomedical Optics Research Laboratory (BORL), Europe's largest academic research group devoted to the development of new optical systems and techniques for medical diagnostics. In a collaboration between BORL scientists and the Rosie Hospital, Cambridge, the recruiting team have received a research grant from EPSRC to investigate a new optical method of detecting and assessing brain injury in newborn infants. This has created this opportunity for a suitable qualified electronic engineer or physicist to contribute to new innovations in medical technology and work in an exciting, highly multi-disciplinary environment.

About the role

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Applications are invited for a postdoctoral electronic engineer or physicist to join a multi-disciplinary team who are international recognised as leaders in the application of optical systems for diagnosis and assessment of infant brain pathology. The job will involve designing, building, and evaluating a new kind of optical imaging system for assessing a variety of newborn infant neuro-pathologies in a hospital intensive care unit. The postholder will have primary responsibility for the development and evaluation of the system, and of the data processing and image display software. The postholder will also work with the clinical team to test the system on newborn infants. The role will also involve preparing and presenting findings of research activity to colleagues for review purposes, contributing to the drafting and submitting of papers to appropriate peer-reviewed journals, and contributing to the overall activities of the research team and department as required.


For more information about this role, please contact the project lead, Prof. Jem Hebden at j.hebden@ucl.ac.uk.


This Research Fellow position will appointed at Grade 7 (45,103 - 47,451 inclusive of London Allowance). This is a fixed-term appointment, and is available for up to three years. The closing deadline for applications is

September 25, 2025

, and interviews will be arranged for early October.

About you

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The successful applicant will have a PhD in electronic engineering, physics, or a related subject. The applicant will have experience in designing, assembling, and testing electronic systems, and have familiarity with the principles and operation of optical imaging methods and technologies. Demonstrable skills in data processing and computer-aided design, authorship of scientific papers, communication skills and a willingness to contribute to public engagement events, as well as professionalism when dealing with external collaborators are also essential.


The role will require the applicant to: design and assemble novel opto-electronic imaging hardware; develop and implement software for system control, data calibration and processing; evaluate the system on objects with tissue-like properties and on adult human volunteers; and assist with ethically-approved imaging studies on newborn infants. The role holder will also present this work at international conferences and in papers published in scientific journals.


Applications should include a

CV

and a

Cover Letter:

In the Cover Letter, please explain how you meet the essential and desirable criteria in the Person Specification part of the . Please upload this in the cover letter attachment section of the application form. By including a Cover Letter, you can leave blank the "Why you have applied for this role" field in the online application form (which is limited in the number of characters it will allow.)


This role meets the eligibility requirements for a skilled worker certificate of sponsorship or a global talent visa under UK Visas and Immigration legislation. Therefore, UCL welcomes applications from international applicants who require a visa.

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.


Our department holds an Athena SWAN Bronze award, in recognition of our commitment to advancing gender equality.*


You can read more about our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion here : https://www.ucl.ac.uk/equality-diversity-inclusion/