Research Associate

at  Kings College London

Job id: 105705. Salary: £47,632 per annum, including London Weighting Allowance.
Posted: 28 January 2025. Closing date: 06 February 2025.
Business unit: Natural, Mathematical & Engineering Sci. Department: Physics.
Contact details: Ruth Gregory. ruth.gregory@kcl.ac.uk
Location: Strand Campus. Category: Research.
About us
The Faculty of Natural, Mathematical & Engineering Sciences (NMES) comprises Chemistry, Engineering, Informatics, Mathematics, and Physics – all departments highly rated in research activities and a wide-ranging portfolio of education programmes.
Celebrating diversity and supporting staff is important to us and we offer a range of provision including flexible working, caring support (including a Parenting and Carers Fund and the Carer’s Career Development Fund), training, and a variety of diversity and inclusion networks. Staff can apply for flexible working to help them balance the demands of their professional and personal commitments and we offer comprehensive leave policies for parental, adoption, surrogacy, dependant and shared leave.
The university is making investment in NMES and both student and staff numbers are growing. Our staff come from over 45 countries and 56% of our students are from outside the UK. Principally located on the Strand Campus in the heart of central London, further details available at www.kcl.ac.uk/nms.
Physics:
The study of Physics at King’s dates back to the foundation of the College in 1829. The Department is currently undergoing significant growth with substantial investment in new appointments, research infrastructure and laboratory space refurbishment. We offer a range of UG courses in both three-year (BSc) and 4-year (MSci) versions as well as MSc and PhD programmes.
Further information may be found at: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/physics
About the role
The Theory of Controlled Quantum Systems (ToCQS) group is seeking to appoint a skilled and motivated postdoctoral fellow.
Our group works on a fairly broad range of topics at the intersection of quantum thermodynamics, quantum metrology, open quantum systems theory, and non-equilibrium statistical physics. We collaborate actively with experimental groups working on atomic, mesoscopic, and solid-state quantum devices. Possible topics of research include, but are not limited to:
non-equilibrium thermodynamics of mesoscopic electronic devices - classical simulation of quantum many-body and/or non-Markovian dynamics
quantum metrology in complex environments - applications of quantum simulation to statistical mechanics
The research focus is quite open-ended and will be driven to a large extent by the successful applicant’s own scientific interests and skills.
The successful applicant will hold a PhD in physics or a closely related subject, and ideally will have research experience in some of the following areas:
tensor-network methods - high-performance computing
non-equilibrium statistical mechanics - open quantum systems
quantum transport
Our research is highly collaborative and usually involves a mix of analytical and computational work. Duties include performing research, writing papers, presenting results at conferences and meetings, and contributing to the fun and convivial atmosphere of the ToCQS group.
We aim to provide a supportive environment that will prioritise your career development as well as your research. You will be strongly encouraged to apply for prestigious independent fellowships, and will be assisted in doing so. You will be directly involved in the supervision of PhD and MSc students within the group.
This is a full time post (35 Hours per week), and you will be offered a fixed term contract until 30/09/2027.
About you
To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience:
Essential criteria
1. PhD in Theoretical Physics, Theoretical Chemistry, or a closely related subject
Desirable criteria
1. Experience in open quantum systems theory
2. Experience in tensor network theory and simulations using high-performance computers
3. Experience in quantum transport, non-equilibrium statistics mechanics, and/or full counting statistics
4. Experience of mentoring/supervising postgraduate students

Downloading a copy of our Job Description

• Please note that this is a PhD level role but candidates who have submitted their thesis and are awaiting award of their PhDs will be considered. In these circumstances the appointment will be made at Grade 5, spine point 30 with the title of Research Assistant. Upon confirmation of the award of the PhD, the job title will become Research Associate and the salary will increase to Grade 6.

Further Information
We pride ourselves on being inclusive and welcoming. We embrace diversity and want everyone to feel that they belong and are connected to others in our community.
We are committed to working with our staff and unions on these and other issues, to continue to support our people and to develop a diverse and inclusive culture at King’s.
We ask all candidates to submit a copy of their CV, and a supporting statement, detailing how they meet the essential criteria listed in the advert. If we receive a strong field of candidates, we may use the desirable criteria to choose our final shortlist, so please include your evidence against these where possible.
To find out how our managers will review your application, please take a look at our ‘ How we Recruit’ pages.
We are able to offer sponsorship for candidates who do not currently possess the right to work in the UK

Please refer the Job description for details