Assistant / Associate Professor in Particle Physics

Imperial Enterprise; Greater London; On-site; GBP 73,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

State-of-the-art facilities

CERN collaboration access

Tailored academic training

Competitive salary package

Diversity and inclusion culture

Job summary

Imperial College London invites applications for an Assistant or Associate Professor in Particle Physics to lead an experimental program focused on hidden-sector searches using the SHiP experiment and related high-intensity neutrino and dark matter studies.

The post offers access to external funding, collaboration across Imperial’s physics communities, and opportunities to contribute to education from undergraduate to doctoral training, with a strong commitment to equality of opportunity.

Qualifications

• We are seeking an outstanding academic committed to excellence in research, teaching, and service.
• You will demonstrate a strong record in experimental particle physics with high-quality publications.
• Experience in major international collaborations and diverse experimental programs is valued.

Responsibilities

• Develop and lead a internationally excellent research programme focused on hidden-sector searches and the SHiP experiment.
• Contribute to teaching and curriculum development at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
• Supervise and mentor PhD students and junior researchers; contribute to doctoral training initiatives.
• Secure external research funding and build collaborations within and beyond Imperial.
• Play an active role in departmental and faculty development.
• Advance SHiP through detector/instrumentation development, simulation, software, reconstruction, data analysis and interpretation.

Skills

Experimental particle physics

Funding applications

Teaching and supervision

Collaboration leadership

Detector/instrumentation

Education

PhD in Physics or closely related field

Tools

Computing and data analysis

Job description

Assistant / Associate Professor in Particle Physics

The Department of Physics at Imperial College London seeks an outstanding experimental physicist to join us as an Assistant Professor or Associate Professor, and to build a leading research programme focused on searches for hidden-sector particles using accelerator experiments at the intensity frontier.

Imperial participates in several current and future fixed-target experiments searching for feebly interacting particles. Imperial physicists played a leading role in proposing the SHiP (Search for Hidden Particles) experiment at CERN, and have helped drive the experiment from its conception, through CERN approval, and into its current design phase. SHiP will also pursue a distinctive neutrino programme, including studies of tau neutrinos. CERN approved the experiment in 2024, and it is now progressing through detailed design towards construction and long-term operation.

Imperial also participates in several other experiments using high-intensity neutrino beams to constrain dark-sector models and search for feebly interacting particles, including T2K, SBN, and DUNE. The particle physics group also has core responsibilities in direct dark matter detection experiments (LZ and XLZD), and on the LHCb experiment.

This post offers a unique opportunity to play a leading role in the design and construction of the SHiP experiment, with access to externally funded resources to support the experimental programme. While this will be a primary focus of the post, the successful candidate will also have the opportunity to contribute to a broader research programme in related areas and to the Department’s world-leading education provision.

What you would be doing

As a member of our academic faculty, you will:

• Develop and lead an internationally excellent research programme in experimental particle physics, centred on hidden-sector searches and the SHiP experiment.
• Contribute to teaching and curriculum development at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
• Supervise and mentor PhD students and junior researchers, and contribute to doctoral training initiatives.
• Secure external research funding and build productive collaborations within and beyond Imperial.
• Play an active role in the life and strategic development of the Department and the wider Faculty.
• Contribute to the SHiP experiment through an appropriate combination of detector and instrumentation development, simulation, software, reconstruction, data analysis and physics interpretation.
• Contribute to a broader research programme in hidden-sector searches and related areas.

Depending on your level of appointment, you may also:

• Contribute to departmental leadership and management.

What we are looking for

We are seeking an outstanding academic who is committed to excellence in research, teaching, and contribution to the academic community.

You will be able to demonstrate:

• A PhD in Physics or in a closely related field, or equivalent.
• A strong record in experimental particle physics, with publications and contributions of outstanding quality appropriate to your career stage.
• Experience of research within a major international particle physics collaboration, at a collider, fixed-target, beam-dump or neutrino experiment.
• Relevant expertise in at least one of detector or instrumentation development, experimental software or computing, event reconstruction, data analysis or physics interpretation.
• A clear plan for an internationally leading the SHiP experiment programme, and how it would be integrated in a broader research programme.
• The potential to collaborate across the Physics of Particles Community and the wider Department.
• Career-stage adequate experience with funding applications.
• Commitment to high-quality teaching and supervision of students.
• Excellent communication, collaboration, and leadership skills appropriate to your career stage.
• At the Assistant Professor level, you will have clear potential to develop an international reputation in intensity-frontier experimental particle physics.
• At the Associate Professor level, you will have an established profile and international recognition in intensity-frontier experimental particle physics, independent scientific leadership including leading a team of researchers, and sustained success in securing external research funding.

It would also be desirable for you to have:

• Experience of detector hardware development, prototyping or construction.
• Experience in another experimental programme whose methods and technologies transfer readily to the SHiP experiment.

What we can offer you

• The opportunity to continue your career at a world-leading institution and be part of our mission to use science for humanity.
• Access to state-of-the-art facilities and to Imperial’s long-established programme at CERN, together with significant computing resources through Imperial’s Research Computing Service.
• Grow in your career with tailored training programmes for academic staff including dedicated support with navigating your career and managing research as well as a transparent promotion process.
• Sector-leading salary and remuneration package (43 days off a year including public holidays and generous pension schemes).
• Be part of a diverse, inclusive and collaborative work culture with various staff networks and resources designed to support your personal and professional wellbeing .

Further Information

Assistant Professor: £73,194 to £82,954 per annum

Associate Professor: Minimum starting salary of £85,873 per annum

This is an open-ended, full-time post (35 hours per week). The starting date will be agreed with the successful candidate.

The Department of Physics is part of the Faculty of Natural Sciences at Imperial College London. We are an internationally renowned Physics department, which enables us to create groups of international standing, and with sufficient scale and critical mass, that they influence the research agenda and attract the world’s top researchers. The Department is structured into five Research Communities that drive new research directions: Light, Matter, Physics of Particles, Physics of the Universe, and Space, Plasma and Climate.

The post will sit within the Department's Physics of Particles Community, which investigates particle interactions at the smallest scales to discover new particles, forces and phenomena, advancing our understanding of the Universe. This research drives technological innovation in accelerators, detectors, data handling, analysis and machine learning.

Imperial College is committed to equality of opportunity, eliminating discrimination and fostering an inclusive workplace culture. The Department of Physics is also proud to hold an Athena SWAN Silver Award, recognising our commitment to fostering a supportive, inclusive, and thriving community. We value the strength that comes from diverse perspectives, and we warmly welcome applications from talented people of all backgrounds, and particularly those underrepresented in physics, to join our vibrant community supported by initiatives that promote collaboration, inclusivity, and professional development.

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 before the stated closing date, 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 [e-mail]. 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.

As a member of our vibrant community of 22,000 students and 8,000 staff, you’ll collaborate with passionate minds across nine London campuses and a global network.

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 web pages .

Proud signatory of the Armed Forces Covenant. We welcome applications from the Armed Forces community.

Our values are at the root of everything we do, and everyone in our community is expected to demonstrate respect, collaboration, excellence, integrity, and innovation.