Assistant Professor or Associate Professor (Research and Education) in Space Environment - Scho[...]

The University of Birmingham; Birmingham; On-site; GBP 47,000 - 68,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading UK university is seeking a highly motivated academic to join its School of Engineering. The role involves leading research, teaching, and collaboration in the field of space and resilience engineering. Candidates must have a PhD and a solid track record in research and publications. The position offers a competitive salary, with opportunities for growth over time.

Qualifications

• A PhD in a relevant field and successful postdoctoral experience.
• A record of high-impact research and publications.
• Outstanding teaching and supervision experience at the higher education level.

Responsibilities

• Lead internationally significant research and publish in top-tier journals.
• Contribute to teaching across multiple programmes.
• Develop new research directions and secure external funding.

Skills

Research publishing

Grant writing

Teaching experience

AI/ML knowledge

Collaboration with stakeholders

Education

PhD in relevant field

Job description

Position Details

School of Engineering

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £47,389 to £56,535 with potential progression once in post to £63,606

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £58,225 to £67,468 with potential progression once in post to £87,974

Grade: 8 or 9

Full Time, Permanent

Closing date: 6th January 2026

Background

This is an exceptional moment to join the University of Birmingham and help shape a frontier area of research. Our School of Engineering is entering a new phase of growth and strategic investment with a bold vision for interdisciplinary impact in space, resilience, and advanced modelling.

SERENE (Space Environment & Radio Engineering) is a research group within the Department of Electronic, Electrical and Systems Engineering, School of Engineering (EESE), dedicated to understanding, modelling, forecasting, and mitigating the effects of the near‑Earth space environment, and translating those insights into applications for navigation, communications, satellite operations, and infrastructure resilience. Our work spans ionospheric/thermospheric science, radio propagation, data assimilation, HF radar, and advanced computational methods to support space weather forecasting and engineering solutions. In REF 2021 and beyond, Engineering at Birmingham is ranked among the UK’s top departments, and our plans include continued investment in people, computation, facilities, and strategic partnerships to lead nationally and globally in space & resilience engineering.

Role Summary

We are seeking to appoint a highly motivated, research‑strong academic to join SERENE and EESE. The successful applicant will have a PhD in a relevant specialist subject area, as well as postdoctoral experience. They should actively contribute to our portfolio and community through the pursuit of research that brings new opportunities, synergies, and interdisciplinary collaboration. The role will be based in Edgbaston and will include teaching, research, supervision, and service.

Responsibilities

You will be expected to:

• Lead internationally significant research and publish in top‑tier journals and conferences
• Develop new research directions and secure external funding
• Contribute to teaching across undergraduate, postgraduate taught, and professional development programmes (e.g. courses in digital electronics, engineering AI applications, signal propagation, ML for physical systems, mathematics, space weather, etc.)
• Participate in service, administration, leadership within the SERENE group, the EESE Department, the School of Engineering, and the University
• Forge and maintain external partnerships (industry, government agencies, space agencies, national centres)

Experience in collaborating with space weather/engineering users or stakeholders is advantageous. Proven skills in software development, HPC, data pipelines, and code reliability are strongly valued.

Qualifications

Applicants should have:

• A PhD in a relevant field and successful postdoctoral experience
• A record of high‑impact research and publications
• Outstanding teaching and supervision experience at the higher education level
• Strong grant writing and funding acquisition experience
• Knowledge of AI/ML & data‑centric space environment modelling, ionospheric & scintillation modelling, or related areas

Key Themes

• AI/ML & Data‑Centrifugal Space Environment Modelling
  • Machine learning, deep learning, Bayesian methods, or hybrid physics‑ML models for forecasting and nowcasting of ionospheric/thermospheric parameters (e.g. electron density, neutral density, electric fields, plasma irregularities)
  • Data assimilation, sensor fusion, time‑series modelling, uncertainty quantification, and probabilistic forecasting in the space domain
  • Self‑learning or adaptive models in response to evolving solar and geomagnetic conditions
  • Explainable ML for traceable, robust predictions in space weather applications
• Ionospheric & Scintillation Modelling (Local & Global Scales)
  • Physics‑based, empirical, and hybrid modelling of ionospheric irregularities and small‑scale structures
  • Predictive models of scintillation and signal degradation for GNSS, satellite‑ground links and HF radio
  • Multiscale coupling between large‑scale ionospheric structure and small‑scale turbulence / irregularities
  • Improvement of spatial/temporal resolution, regional/latitude‑dependence, and cross‑validation with observations

Contact

Informal enquiries to Theodoros Arvanitis, email: [e-mail] and Professor Sean Elvidge, Email: [e-mail]

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

The University of Birmingham is committed to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and strongly encourages applications from under‑represented groups. We have Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We are also committed to sustainability, which is a key part of our strategy.

We believe there is no such thing as a ‘typical’ member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are proud to hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed.

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