Research Fellow- Horizon Europe Pathfinder Project- FAST

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON; Southampton; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Southampton is seeking a capable postdoctoral fellow to advance a Horizon Europe project aimed at fabricating and integrating ASE-mitigating nanostructures on REDS sapphire. You will work with electron-beam lithography, plasma etching, and laser characterisation in a lab-driven, team-based environment.

Strong grounding in physical sciences and a proactive, organized approach to planning research are essential.

Qualifications

• Postdoctoral fellowship with strong physical sciences background.
• Ability to work effectively in a team and manage research activities.
• Experience documenting and communicating research results.
• Willingness to engage in interdisciplinary and international collaboration.
• Experience in project management is advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Innovate: develop scalable electron-beam lithography processes to fabricate ASE mitigation photonic nanostructures on sapphire or equivalent substrates.
• Collaborate with a dynamic, interdisciplinary team across Europe.
• Experiment with electron-beam lithography, plasma etch fabrication techniques, laser characterisations, and practical skills.
• Explore how to produce high-quality ASE mitigation nanostructures integrated to REDS crystals and scale to practical dimensions.

Skills

Postdoctoral research

Teamwork

Self-motivation

Project management

Documentation & communication

Education

Physical sciences background

Tools

Electron-beam lithography

Plasma etch fabrication

Laser characterisation

Job description

Organisation/Company UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON Research Field Engineering Physics Researcher Profile Recognised Researcher (R2) First Stage Researcher (R1) Established Researcher (R3) Application Deadline 4 Nov 2026 - 00:00 (UTC) Country United Kingdom 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 University of Southampton is committed to excellence in all we do, applying our insights and inventiveness to solve the most complex societal and environmental challenges. As a world-leading, research-intensive university, with a strong and high-quality educational offering, we are renowned for our innovation and enterprise and are within the top 1% of universities worldwide.

Apply to be part of a Horizon Europe Pathfinder science-to-technology breakthrough, targeting a paradigm shift in fabricating a novel optically active crystal – rare-earth (RE) doped sapphire (REDS). The EIC-funded project’s objective is to enhance laser technology performance through creating functionalised REDS thin-disks as new optical components for innovative-lasers applications. We’re looking for an enthusiastic postdoctoral fellow to be part of our team to advance our electron-beam lithography and plasma etch technology, ultimately develop a layer of amplified spontaneous emission mitigation (ASE) nanostructures on a new class of active mirror to underpin the next generation of thin-disk lasers.

What You’ll Do:

• innovate: develop scalable electron-beam lithography processes to fabricate ASE mitigation photonic nanostructures on sapphire or equivalent substrates
• collaborate: work with a dynamic team and engage in interdisciplinary research
• experiment: gain hands-on experience with cutting-edge electron-beam lithography and plasma etch fabrication techniques, laser characterisations, and honing your practical skills
• explore: help develop a deeper understanding of how to produce high-quality ASE mitigation nanostructures integrated to REDS crystals and scale to practical dimensions.

We’re seeking a capable and resourceful postdoctoral candidate eager to dive into laboratory work to develop high-resolution pattern transfer and microfabrication methods to create these novel optically active sapphire elements. You’ll have a solid grounding in physical sciences with an eagerness to understand and solve key challenges. You are a self-starter, able to organise own research activities effectively who is able to plan and justify focus on extensive research that will result in impactful outputs. The successful candidate will have an ability to clearly document and communicate research results.

You must be able to work effectively in a team and organise time, tasks and responsibilities with other team members. Experience in project management will be an advantage.

In this project you’ll have access to:

• state-of-the-art facilities: access to top-tier resources, cleanrooms, and materials-characterisation suites
• interdisciplinary research: collaborate with experts within the university and beyond
• international collaboration: work closely with consortium partners across Europe towards ambitious project goals.

Further details can be found on the European Commission Fact Sheet: FAST

Electronics and Computer Science provides a unique, friendly and supportive environment that facilitates use-inspired and multi-disciplinary research, education, training and outreach.

ECS holds an Athena SWAN Silver award in recognition of its’ continued commitment to improving equality for women in science and engineering. ECS provides a unique, friendly and supportive environment. We have a range of staff development programmes and a unique mentoring and wellbeing scheme.

The University of Southampton is committed to sustainability and being a globally responsible university and has recently been awarded the Platinum EcoAward.