MRI Principal Clinical Scientist

University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; Greater London; On-site; GBP 72,000 - 84,000; Full time

Job summary

A major healthcare provider in London seeks a Principal Clinical Scientist to join their MRI Physics Team. In this leadership role, you'll ensure high standards of MRI safety and support clinical services and research. Candidates should hold a degree in a Physical Science, be registered as a Clinical Scientist, and ideally possess a PhD. The position offers a competitive salary of £72,921 to £83,362, and a full-time permanent contract, with the opportunity to influence healthcare innovation and training.

Qualifications

• 1st or 2nd Honours degree in a Physical Science or equivalent.
• State Registration as a Clinical Scientist with the HCPC.
• PhD degree or equivalent research experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead the MRI Physics Team and ensure excellent MRI support.
• Act independently as an MR Safety Expert.
• Develop efficient and effective working relationships.

Skills

MRI Physics Expertise

Clinical Safety Advice

Leadership

Programming Skills

Data Analysis

Communication

Education

1st or 2nd Honours degree in a Physical Science

State Registration as a Clinical Scientist

PhD degree or equivalent research experience

Job description

MRI Principal Clinical Scientist

The closing date is 16 December 2025

We seek to appoint a motivated and experienced Clinical Scientist to help lead the MRI Physics Team based at UCLH.

The MRI Physics Section is part of the Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering. MRI physics support is provided for a wide range of clinical and research activities on 11 "in‑house" MRI scanners, including a new development at Bedford Passage.

The section has a strong track record in translational MRI research, and you will take an active role in leading research activities and developing the clinical service. We work closely with clinicians and academic partners at UCL to actively promote and deliver activities aimed at translating innovations into clinical practice.

You will also take a lead role in training future clinical scientists who are following the National School of Healthcare Science Scientist Training Scheme.

This is an excellent opportunity to take a leadership role within a growing team and influence MRI safety, quality, teaching, training, research and innovation.

Main duties of the job

The Principal Clinical Scientist is the Deputy Head of the MRI Physics Team, delivering services, vision, and objectives that ensure that the section provides excellent MRI physics support to the Trust and to external stakeholders.

They will work at a senior professional level and operate with a very high degree of autonomy with the capacity to advise and act at that level.

The post holder will act independently as an MR Safety Expert (MRSE).

They will work as part of the MRI Physics Section within the Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering at UCH to deliver support to clinical MRI services.

The postholder has a role in developing efficient and effective working relationships and practices at the interfaces of organisational and professional structures, including within Medical Physics, between partners in clinical and academic science, with medical colleagues and external customers.

About us

University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH) is one of the most complex NHS trusts in the UK, serving a large and diverse population. We provide academically led acute and specialist services, to people from the local area, from throughout the United Kingdom and overseas. Our vision is to deliver top‑quality patient care, excellent education, and world‑class research.

We provide first‑class acute and specialist services across eight sites:

• University College Hospital (incorporating the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Wing)
• National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery
• Royal National ENT and Eastman Dental Hospitals
• University College Hospital Grafton Way Building
• Royal London Hospital for Integrated Medicine
• University College Hospital Macmillan Cancer Centre
• The Hospital for Tropical Diseases
• UCH at Westmoreland Street

We are dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of many complex illnesses. UCLH specialises in women's health and the treatment of cancer, infection, neurological, gastrointestinal and oral disease. It has world‑class support services including critical care, imaging, nuclear medicine and pathology.

We are committed to sustainability and have pledged to become a carbon net‑zero health service, embedding sustainable practice throughout UCLH. We have set an ambitious target of net‑zero for our direct emissions by 2031 and indirect emissions by 2040.

Job responsibilities

For the full Person Specification and more information regarding the main responsibilities of this role, please refer to the attached Job Description.

The Department of Medical Physics & Biomedical Engineering is a central resource of professional scientific and engineering knowledge and skills within UCLH. Our services support clinical services and research and development at UCLH and UCL.

The UCLH MRI Physics Section provides direct support to clinical teams at UCLH and to researchers, predominantly at UCLH and UCL, across the following areas of work:

• Provision of MRI Safety Advice.
• Strategic development of clinical MRI services, both at Trust level and within the North Central London Integrated Care System.
• Support for research, development and clinical translation.
• Staff Training, including development of Clinical Scientist trainees.

Come and be a part of the best NHS trust in England to work for, according to our staff*

* UCLH top trust to work at in England - In the most recent NHS staff survey UCLH had the highest percentage of staff who said they would recommend us as a place to work, out of all general acute or acute/community NHS trusts in England for the third year in a row.

UCLH recognises the benefits of flexible working for staff. To find out more, visit: Flexible working.

To discover more about what makes UCLH a great place to work, visit: Why Choose UCLH?

Person Specification

Knowledge and Qualifications

• 1st or 2nd Honours degree in a Physical Science or equivalent
• State Registration as a Clinical Scientist with the HCPC
• Professional Institute Membership
• IPEM certification as an MRSE, or able to apply for certification within a reasonable timeframe.
• PhD degree or equivalent research experience

Knowledge and Qualifications: Scientific and Technical Experience

• Specialist knowledge as a MR Safety Expert to act as the MRSE.
• Advanced theoretical and technical knowledge in MRI
• Knowledge of quality assurance of MRI equipment
• Knowledge and experience of clinical applications of MRI
• Understanding of relevant national standards, guidelines and legislations relevant to MRI including MHRA, IEC, CEMFAW, Caldicott, GDPR, COSHH and Health & Safety at Work Act
• Knowledge of DICOM standards and anonymisation

Knowledge and Qualifications: Clinical

• Advanced knowledge of clinical practice and the role of MRI Physics
• Knowledge of relevant anatomy, physiology and pathology
• Good understanding of the hazards and risks of MRI in the clinical environment
• Knowledge and understanding of quality and risk management as they apply to MRI Physics

Knowledge and Qualifications: Management and Leadership

• Knowledge of how to offer effective supervision
• Understanding of quality and performance management and their application to MRI Physics
• Knowledge of appropriate standard and systems of financial accountability in a public sector organisation

Experience: Scientific and Technical

• Experience of a scientific healthcare environment
• Experience of a variety of computing systems and application packages
• Experience of image acquisition with a clinical scanner
• Experience of image processing techniques
• Experience of quality assurance of clinical MRI equipment
• Experience in risk assessment and installation of MRI units, including manipulating MRI test objects, gaussmeters and acoustic noise meters with a high degree of accuracy to produce results within a narrow margin of error.
• Experience of at least one programming language used for research (eg python, matlab)

Experience: Management and Leadership

• Experience of providing services in a healthcare environment
• Experience of supervision, training and/or management of scientists / trainees
• Experience of identifying service development or research opportunities
• Experience of participating in committees / working groups involving scientific and technical information
• Experience of managing resources within a project
• Experience of MRI Pulse sequence programming
• Experience of working with a Quality Management System

Skills and Abilities: Scientific and Clinical

• Ability to apply knowledge and experience in making judgements regarding the safe operation of clinical MRI equipment
• Ability to provide MRI safety advice in a clinical setting
• Ability to perform options appraisals based on a range of information and judgements
• Ability to provide advice on the use of clinical MRI equipment for patient diagnosis, management and treatment for routine care and when planning and implementing a research programme
• Skill at approaching scientific and technical problems in a logical manner
• Ability to initiate and self‑manage Quality Improvement and translational Research projects
• Ability to introduce changes to improve the clinical service
• Ability to organise own workload
• Good computing skills including programming skills and using signal and image processing applications and knowledge of higher programming language (e.g. Matlab, Python etc.)
• Able to operate a range of clinical MRI systems
• Good data analysis skills

Skills and Abilities: Values

• Evidence of self‑motivation, initiative and enthusiasm

Skills and Abilities: Values: Communication

• Good track record of disseminating scientific work through peer‑reviewed publications and conference presentations consistent with career stage
• Ability to produce clear and unambiguous reports and procedures which can be understood by staff and stakeholders from a variety of professions
• Ability to communicate complex information at postgraduate level to other professional groups
• Ability to communicate with patients in a relaxed, caring and professional manner
• Able to train groups of other professional staff
• Able to deliver teaching and training on complex subjects
• Ability to communicate with Trust management and convey technical information at an appropriate level
• Ability to create strong working relationships with other departments and external clients
• Ability to negotiate solutions to problems where conflicting views exist
• Able to deal with complex and unpredictable situations

Management and Leadership and Specific personal Qualities

• Ability to supervise trainees effectively and sympathetically
• Able to encourage colleagues and contribute positively to the team
• Ability to manage and direct senior and junior staff sensitively and effectively
• Ability to articulate and report the status of assigned projects and systems
• Able to exercise initiative to solve problems when dealing with issues within own specialist area of competence
• Able to prioritise and manage own time and workload under pressure
• Ability to act as a line manager
• Great attention to detail
• Commitment to develop and communicate the contribution of MRI Physics to healthcare
• Ability to use computer software to gather, organise and process information
• Willing to work some unsocial hours
• Willing to work with experimental models of disease
• Research and development track record
• Record of presenting work at scientific meetings

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Wing, University College London Hospital

£72,921 to £83,362 a year inclusive of HCAS

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full‑time

Reference number

309-UCLH-7150

Job locations

Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Wing, University College London Hospital