Postdoctoral Researcher

The University of Edinburgh; City of Edinburgh; On-site; GBP 41,000 - 49,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading higher education institution is seeking a full-time Postdoctoral Researcher in Linguistics to join the Linguistics & English Language Department. This role involves conducting research on Burun languages within the ERC funded project, including fieldwork in East Africa. Candidates should hold a relevant PhD and have extensive expertise in qualitative analysis of sound systems and morphosyntax of understudied languages. A competitive salary and comprehensive staff benefits await the successful candidate.

Benefits

Generous holiday entitlement

Defined benefits pension scheme

Staff discounts

Family-friendly initiatives

Qualifications

• Appropriate degree in Linguistics with relevant post-graduate experience.
• Extensive expertise in qualitative analysis based on first-hand data.
• Experience with the study of suprasegmental phenomena.

Responsibilities

• Conduct descriptive research on Burun languages.
• Analyze sound system and morphosyntax of target languages.
• Collaborate with team members and perform fieldwork in East Africa.

Skills

Qualitative analysis of sound systems

Morphosyntax analysis

Knowledge of suprasegmental phenomena

Education

PhD in Linguistics

Job description

Grade UE07: £41,064- £ 48,822 per annum
College of Arts, Humanities and Social Science
School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences
Full time: 35 hours per week
Fixed Term: 64 months

The Opportunity:

The Linguistics & English Language Department in the School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences are seeking a full‑time, fixed‑term Postdoctoral Researcher. This post is available from 1st of March 2026.

The successful candidate will work alongside Dr Bert Remijsen and other team members as part of an ERC funded grant “The evolution of suprasegmental morphology in West Nilotic” (Nilomorph). The postdoc will be responsible for conducting descriptive research on the Burun languages within the wider West Nilotic group, resulting in analyses of the sound system and morphosyntax of the target languages. The position involves collaborative research and regular (annual) fieldwork in East Africa throughout the duration of the role.

As a School we acknowledge that people’s career paths are rarely linear and welcome applicants to expand on their professional and personal journeys where appropriate.

Your skills and attributes for success:

• Appropriate degree in Linguistics, with relevant post‑graduate research and/or teaching experience. Normally a PhD (pending or assumed complete may be considered).
• Extensive expertise in qualitative analysis of the sound system of an understudied language based on data collected first‑hand.
• Extensive expertise in qualitative analysis of the morphosyntax of an understudied language based on data collected first‑hand.
• Experience with the study of suprasegmental phenomena.

Application information:

We ask you to include a current CV and cover letter with names of three referees who may be contacted at a later date (please note if you do not wish for anyone to be contacted until after an offer has been made). We invite candidates to use their cover letter to highlight professional and personal experiences that may be relevant to the role.

More information on how to submit your application can be found here.

Informal enquiries may be made to Dr Bert Remijsen ([e-mail]).

As a valued member of our team you can expect:

• A competitive salary of £41,064- £ 48,822 (pro rata for part time).
• An exciting, positive, creative, challenging and rewarding place to work.
• To be part of a diverse and vibrant international community.
• Comprehensive Staff Benefits, such as a generous holiday entitlement, a defined benefits pension scheme, staff discounts and family‑friendly initiatives. Check out the full list on our staff benefits page and use our reward calculator to discover the total value of your pay and benefits.

Championing equality, diversity and inclusion:

The University of Edinburgh holds a Silver Athena SWAN award in recognition of our commitment to advance gender equality in higher education. We are members of the Race Equality Charter and we are also Stonewall Scotland Diversity Champions, actively promoting LGBT equality.

Prior to any employment commencing with the University you will be required to evidence your right to work in the UK. Further information is available on our right to work webpages.

The University may be able to sponsor the employment of international workers in this role. This will depend on a number of factors specific to the successful applicant.

Key dates to note:

The closing date for applications is 17th December 2025.

Unless stated otherwise the closing time for applications is 11:59pm GMT. If you are applying outside the UK the closing time on our adverts automatically adjusts to your browsers local time zone.

Interviews are expected to be held in January 2026; we aim to give successful candidates 2 weeks’ notice ahead of interviews.