Postdoctoral Research Associate

Job description

Working at Durham University

A globally outstanding centre of teaching and research excellence, a warm and friendly place to work, a unique and historic setting - Durham is a university like no other.

As one of the UK's leading universities, Durham is an incredible place to define your career. The University is located within a beautiful historic city, home to a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and surrounded by stunning countryside. Our talented scholars and researchers from around the world are tackling global issues and making a difference to people's lives.

We believe that inspiring our people to do outstanding things at Durham enables Durham people to do outstanding things in the world. Being a part of Durham is about more than just the success of the University, it's also about contributing to the success of the city, county and community.

Our University Strategy is built on three pillars of research, education and wider student experience, but also on our keen sense of community and of inspiring others to achieve their potential.

Our Purpose and Values

We want our University to be a place where people can be free to be themselves, no matter what their identity or background. Together, we celebrate difference, value one another and are each responsible for creating an inclusive community that is respectful and fair for all.

Find out more about the benefits of working at the University and what it is like to live and work in the Durham area on our Why Join Us? - Information Page

The Role and Department

Applications are invited for a Postdoctoral Research Associate (PDRA) in experimental earthquake mechanics to join the NERC-funded project "The Nucleation of Intermediate and Large Earthquakes", led by a team of researchers at Durham and Oxford University in collaboration with international partners. The project builds on a multidisciplinary approach combining laboratory experiments, observations of natural earthquakes and numerical modelling to develop new insights into earthquake nucleation.

The successful PDRA applicant will lead and contribute to laboratory experiments that investigate earthquake nucleation and examine how fault heterogeneities influence the transition from slow slip to dynamic rupture. In addition, the PDRA will engage with the Oxford team to compare and integrate the seismological observations with the laboratory results. The research has potential impact on earthquake hazard mitigation, including early warning and probabilistic forecasting.

The PDRA will be hosted by Durham University, Department of Earth Sciences, reporting to Prof. Stefan Nielsen.

The position offers an opportunity to broaden scientific expertise, develop new technical and collaborative skills, and build an international research profile while accessing highly specialised facilities and expertise.

Key responsibilities:

Core research responsibilities

• Design, conduct and analyse laboratory experiments addressing the project's research objectives, including developing experimental methods where appropriate.
  
• Process, interpret and manage research data, and contribute to integrating laboratory results with seismological observations and numerical modelling.
  
• Plan and manage research activities and resources, working independently and collaboratively to deliver project objectives and deadlines.
  
• Develop and disseminate high-quality research outputs, including peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations and stakeholder contributions.
  
• Contribute to the development of research objectives, methods and future research proposals.
  
• Work collaboratively with project investigators, research colleagues, technical staff and international partners, developing networks and opportunities for future collaboration.
  
• Contribute to the training and supervision of students, peers and visitors in relevant research techniques.
  
• Work with technical staff on laboratory activities, including equipment development, maintenance and improvement where appropriate.

Wider responsibilities
• Communicate research findings effectively to academic, non-academic and stakeholder audiences.
• Contribute to a collegial, inclusive and respectful working environment and to the wider activities and citizenship of the Department and University.
• Undertake relevant continuing professional development, including training, teaching and other activities that support career development.
• Contribute to student assessment and supervision, as appropriate to the role and experience.

This post is fixed term for two years as dictated by the project funding agreement. Successful applicants will, ideally, be in post by January 2027.

The post-holder is employed to work on research which will be led by the Durham project lead. Whilst this means that the post-holder will not be carrying out independent research in his/her own right, the expectation is that they will contribute to the advancement of the project, through the development of their own research ideas/adaptation and development of research protocols.

Working at Durham

A competitive salary is only one part of the many fantastic benefits you will receive if you join the University:
• You'll receive 30 days annual leave per year in addition to 8 public holidays and 4 customary days per year - a total of 42 days per year. The University closes between Christmas and New Year.
• We offer a generous pension scheme, and as a new member of staff you will be automatically enrolled into the University Superannuation Scheme (USS).
• No matter how you travel to work, we have you covered. We have ample parking across campus, a cycle to work scheme which helps you to buy a bike and discount with local bus and train companies. You can also take advantage of our cost-effective and environmentally friendly Tusker Car Benefit Scheme, allowing you to lease a brand-new electric or hybrid vehicle with savings on tax and National Insurance.
• We have a genuine commitment to developing our colleagues professionally and personally. There is a comprehensive range of development courses, apprenticeships and access to qualifications and routes to develop your career in the University. All staff have dedicated annual time to concentrate on their personal development opportunities.
• We provide wide-ranging health and wellbeing support including discounted membership for our state-of-the-art sport and gym facilities and access to a 24-7 Employee Assistance Programme.
• Our on-site nursery is rated Outstanding by Ofsted, and you can access holiday camps for children aged 5-16.
• Our family-friendly policies, including maternity and adoption leave, are among the most generous in the higher education sector (and likely above and beyond many employers).
• We offer all staff the opportunity to take part in volunteering activities to make a difference in the local community.
• You can access exclusive discounts via our benefits portal including money off at supermarkets, high street retailers, IT products such as Apple, eating out and days out at various attractions.
• Various salary sacrifice schemes are also available to help you take advantage of tax savings on benefits.
• If you are moving to Durham, you may be eligible for help with removal costs, and we have a dedicated team who can help you with the practicalities such as house hunting and schools. If you need a visa, we cover most visa costs and offer an interest-free loan scheme to pay for dependant visas.

Discover more about our total rewards and benefits package here.

Durham University is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion

Equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) are a key component of the University's Strategy and a central part of everything we do. We also live by our Purpose and Values and our Staff Code of Conduct. At Durham we actively work towards providing an environment where our staff and students can study, work and live in a community which is supportive and inclusive.

We welcome and encourage applications from those who are currently under-represented in our work force, including people with disabilities and from racially minoritised ethnic groups.

If you have taken a career break or periods of leave that may have impacted on the volume and recency of your research outputs and other activities, such as maternity, adoption or parental leave, you may wish to disclose this in your application. The selection committee will take this into account when evaluating your application.

The University has been awarded the Disability Confident Leader status. If you are a candidate with a disability, we are committed to ensuring fair treatment throughout the recruitment process. We will make adjustments to support the interview process wherever it is reasonable to do so and, where successful, reasonable adjustments will be made to support people within their role.

Contact Information

Department contact for academic-related enquiries

Prof. Stefan NIelsen, Department of Earth Sciences, Durham University. [email protected]

Contact information for technical difficulties when submitting your application

If you encounter technical difficulties when using the online application form, we prefer you send enquiries by email. Please send your name along with abrief description of the problem you're experiencing [email protected]

Alternatively, you may call 0191 334 6801 from the UK, or +44 191 334 6801 from outside the UK. This number operates during the hours of 09.00 and 17.00 Monday to Friday, UK time. We will normally respond within one working day (Monday to Friday, excluding UK public holidays).

How to Apply

To progress to the assessment stage, candidates must evidence each of the essential criteria required for the role in the person specification below. It will be at the discretion of the recruiting panel as to whether they will also consider any desirable criteria, but we would urge candidates to provide evidence for all criteria.

While some criteria will be considered at the shortlisting stage, other criteria may be considered later in the assessment process, such as questions at interview.

Submitting your application

We prefer to receive applications online. We will update you about your application at various points throughout the selection process, via automated emails from our e-recruitment system. Please check your spam/junk folder periodically to make sure you have not missed any of our updates.

What to Submit

All applicants are asked to submit:

• Your CV
• A cover letter which details your experience, skills, and achievements in meeting (or the potential to meet) the essential criteria within the person specification of the job description.

Next Steps

Short-listed candidates will be invited to the University, either virtually or in-person and will have the opportunity to meet key members of the Department. The assessment for the post will normally include a presentation in the Department followed by an interview and we anticipate that the assessments and interviews will take place over two days in or around November 2026

In the event that you are unable to attend in person on the date offered, it may not be possible to offer you an interview on an alternative date.

Please note that in submitting your application Durham University will be processing your data. We would ask you to consider the relevant University Privacy Statement Job Applicants/Potential Job Applicants - Durham University which provides information on the collation, storing and use of data.

Durham University is a UKVI sponsor. Applicants who require sponsorship to work in the UK should note that not all roles are eligible. Further information on visa requirements and eligibility can be found on the UKVI website.

Version 07-2026
Person Specification

Essential Criteria:

Qualifications
1) A good first degree in Geology, Earth Sciences, Physics or other science degree with pertinence to the research activity.
2) A PhD in experimental rock mechanics, fracture mechanics, fault geology or a related subject.

Experience
3) Experience in conducting high-quality academic research.
4) Demonstrable ability to write material of a quality commensurate with publication in highly-ranked journals.
5) Demonstrable ability to present research papers at international conferences
6) Demonstrable experience in designing and conducting laboratory experiments and analysing experimental data. Experience in designing and performing rock and fault mechanics experiments.

Skills
7) Demonstrable ability to work cooperatively as part of a team, including participating in research meetings.
8) Ability to plan and manage independent research,. working independently on own initiative and to strict deadlines.

Desirable Criteria:

• Experience in rock and fault mechanics experiments, or in applying experimental methods from a related discipline such as physics or engineering to geoscience problems.
  
• Demonstrable ability to develop research proposals and designs in collaboration with other academics.
  
• Experience of overseeing students with respect to the development of their practical/research skills, e.g. acting as a demonstrator and; supervising student projects/practicals.
  
• Experience of designing novel experimental setups.
  
• Experience of numerical modelling and writing and using codes in high level programming language such as python.
  
• Knowledge of earthquake source seismology observation/theory/modelling.
  
• Use of probability/decision trees and predictive models.
  
• Use of AI (Large Language Models, Convolutional Neural Networks, Machine Learning) for analysis and classification of data.