Research Associate

Lancaster University; Bailrigg; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 46,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous holiday leave - 25 days pro‑r

Pension scheme

Flexible benefits scheme

Athena Swan Silver Award

Job summary

The Psychology Department at Lancaster University invites applications for a full-time Senior Research Associate to work on infant language development. The post is funded for 16.5 months, with an anticipated start in January 2027, and is subject to funding beyond December 2028.

The project, The Origins of Infant Word Learning, explores how hearing words shapes perception and word learning in infancy. Offering 25 days holiday pro-rata, access to pension and flexible benefits, the role supports a

Qualifications

• Demonstrate educational attainment and research experience in infant/language and cognitive development.
• Experience conducting infant behavioral research.
• Competence in designing/developing developmental research, data analysis, open science, and scientific writing.

Responsibilities

• Join a funded project on infant language development and word learning.
• Conduct infant behavioral research and data collection.
• Design and conduct theoretically-driven developmental studies.
• Perform advanced data analysis and promote open science practices.
• Prepare scientific reports and contribute to publications.

Skills

Infant development

Language development

Cognitive development

Infant behavioral research

Research design

Data analysis

Open science

Scientific writing

Education

PhD in Psychology or related field

Tools

R

SPSS

Python

Job description

Senior Research Associate in Infant Development

Psychology

Location: Bailrigg, Lancaster, UK

Salary: £39,906 to £46,049 (Full-Time/Indefinite with End Date)

Closing Date: Wednesday 14 October 2026

Interview Date: Monday 02 November 2026

Reference: 1049-26

The Department of Psychology at Lancaster University is seeking to appoint a full-time Senior Research Associate, to join a research project on infant language development.

The project you will be working on is titled "The Origins of Infant Word Learning", and is funded by the Leverhulme Trust. This project will investigate how hearing words influences how infants perceive and recognise objects, and how this process ultimately leads to word learning.

ABOUT YOU

• Be able to demonstrate relevant educational attainment and research experience in the area of infant and/or language and cognitive development.
• Have experience of conducting infant behavioral research.
• Be able to demonstrate competence with designing and conducting theoretically-driven developmental research, state-of-the-art data analysis, open science practices, scientific writing, and critical thinking.

THE BENEFITS OF THE ROLE

• Generous holiday leave - 25 days (pro-rata) annual leave plus University closure days and bank holidays.
• Access to employee pension scheme, and annual flexible benefits scheme.
• We are committed to promoting Equality, Diversity and Inclusion across the Faculty, and supporting family-friendly and flexible working policies on an individual basis. The Department holds an Athena Swan Silver Award, which recognises and celebrates good employment practice undertaken to address gender equality in Higher Education and research.

The Psychology Department is a busy teaching and research active Department. It is home to a friendly group of around 40 Academic staff, with teams of Research, Professional Services and Technical staff. The Department supports a large cohort of Undergraduate students; a thriving group of Masters and Postgraduate research students; and a wide range of research projects including several cross-institution grants.

Further information about the Department is available at: http://www.psych.lancs.ac.uk

We welcome applications from people in all diversity groups. We expect a start date by January, 2027. The post is for 16.5 months.

This role is indefinite, subject to funding, which is currently only available until December, 2028.

Informal enquiries are welcome and should be addressed to Dr. Jill Lany, Senior Lecturer, at [e-mail].