Postdoctoral Research Fellow, School of Natural and Built Environment

European Commission; United Kingdom; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

Queen's University Belfast is seeking a Postdoctoral Research Fellow for the GEMINI geothermal energy project, aimed at assessing geothermal resources and developing heat models. The successful candidate will play a crucial role in research and collaboration with a multidisciplinary team over a fixed term of 36 months, starting in September 2025.

Benefits

Competitive salary

Attractive benefits package

Flexible working options

Work-life balance initiatives

Qualifications

• Track record in evaluating geothermal resources and relevant modelling.
• Ability to manage key sections in major projects.
• Experience with subsurface characterisation and hydrogeology.

Responsibilities

• Conduct research on geothermal energy project as a key contributor.
• Collect and evaluate field data to develop geothermal resource models.
• Manage research tasks alongside project partners.

Skills

Geothermal Resource Assessment

Data Interpretation

Project Management

Communication

Education

PhD in Geology, Hydrogeology, Geophysics, Engineering or related discipline

Tools

Fibre-Optic Distributed Temperature Sensing

Geophysical Borehole Logging

Numerical Heat & Transport Modelling

Job description

Organisation/Company QUEENS UNIVERSITY BELFAST Research Field Environmental science Geosciences Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Country United Kingdom Application Deadline 21 Jul 2025 - 00:00 (UTC) Type of Contract Other Job Status Full-time Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

The School of Natural and Built Environment is seeking to hire a Postdoctoral Research Fellow to work on the €20/£17.3m multi-partner, all-island geothermal energy demonstration project GEMINI, supported by PEACEPLUS, a programme managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB). The PEACEPLUS programme is co-funded by the European Union, the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Government of Ireland, and the Northern Ireland administration.

The Research Fellow will undertake research tasks during the project with the support of the project's coinvestigators based at Queen's University Belfast and the network of project partners. The post is fixed-term for 36 months, starting 1st September 2025 (or as soon as possible thereafter). A key component of the post is to collect and evaluate field characterisation and monitoring data to develop geothermal resource models for individual project demonstration sites.

About the person:

Successful candidates need to:

• Have a PhD in Geology, Hydrogeology, Geophysics, Engineering or a related discipline with a strong background in the assessment of geothermal resources and related modelling approaches.
• Demonstrate a track record of research in the evaluation of geothermal resources potential and interpretation and integration of relevant field data into models.
• Demonstrate the ability to devise, advise on and manage key sections in major projects.
• Demonstrate sufficient breadth and depth of specialist knowledge in the discipline and of research methods and techniques to work within established research programmes.
• Show a proven ability to communicate complex information clearly and ability to work within a multi-disciplinary team.

Additionally, it is desirable that successful candidates:

• Demonstrate strong expertise in related research areas such as subsurface characterisation, hydrogeology, borehole geophysics and numerical heat & transport modelling.
• Demonstrate experience in the characterisation and monitoring of geothermal resources, in particular the use of Fibre-Optic Distributed Temperature Sensing and geophysical borehole logging.
• Show proven experience in numerical heat & transport modelling.

To be successful at shortlisting stage, please ensure you clearly evidence in your application how you meet the essential and, where applicable, desirable criteria listed in the Candidate Information on our website.

Fixed term contract posts are available for the stated period in the first instance but in particular circumstances may be renewed or made permanent subject to availability of funding.

What we offer:

Beyond a competitive salary, the University offers an attractive benefits package including a holiday entitlement of up to 8.4 weeks a year, pension schemes and development opportunities. We support staff wellbeing with flexible working options, work-life balance initiatives and support for physical and mental health. You can find more detail on all of this and more at https://www.qub.ac.uk/directorates/HumanResources/pay-reward-and-benefits/

Queen's University is committed to promoting equality of opportunity to all. We subscribe to Equality Charter Marks such as the Diversity Charter Mark NI and Athena Swan and have established staff networks such as iRise (Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic and International Staff Network) and PRISM (LGBTQ+) which help us progress equality.