DescriptionGrade UE07: £41,064 - £48,822 per annum
College of Science and Engineering / School of GeoSciences
Full-time: 35 hours per week
Fixed-term contract: for 24 months
The Opportunity:
The University of Edinburgh is a world-class, research-intensive institution. We offer a supportive working environment, excellent facilities, and opportunities for professional development within a diverse and international community.
This is an Academic Research (Postdoctoral Research Associate) opportunity within the School of GeoSciences.
We are seeking a Postdoctoral Research Associate to support the University of Edinburgh contribution to the Horizon Europe Clean Hydrogen project HyCavern, which is developing safe and scalable hydrogen storage in mined, lined rock caverns.
The postholder will deliver a laboratory programme focused on low-carbon concrete performance and sliding-layer/interface material stability. This will include concrete slurry and early-age testing, hydrogen durability and transport testing on cementitious materials, and ageing/compatibility testing of candidate sliding-layer and interface systems under controlled exposure conditions. The role will involve applying appropriate analytical and characterisation techniques, maintaining rigorous QA/QC and traceable datasets, and providing robust outputs for consortium reporting, technical guidance, and publications.
Your skills and attributes for success:
• PhD (awarded, or thesis submitted by the start date) in cement/concrete materials, civil/material engineering, materials science, geoscience/geochemistry (cement/engineered barriers), chemistry, or a closely related field.
• Demonstrated ability to deliver a laboratory programme to deadline, including test planning, QA/QC, documentation, and reliable execution.
• Practical experience in cementitious materials testing, including slurry/early-age behaviour and/or durability/transport behaviour.
• Strong understanding of cementitious materials chemistry and durability (hydration and pore solution chemistry, transport/permeation processes, and ageing mechanisms) relevant to long-term integrity of lined rock cavern concrete and interfaces.
• Strong capability in materials characterisation, with evidence of applying several relevant analytical techniques (e.g., SEM/EDS, XRD, µCT, FTIR, TGA/DSC, DMA, and porosity/transport/permeability methods).
• Strong data handling and reporting skills, with excellent written and verbal communication, and ability to work effectively in a collaborative international project environment.
Working pattern:
This post is full-time (35 hours per week).
This is a laboratory-based role and requires regular on-site attendance (daily during active experimental runs). Remote working will be limited and only permitted occasionally for specific tasks, subject to prior agreement with the line manager. As such, applicants should not expect routine or regular home working as part of this post.
Informal enquiries may be directed to Dr Aliakbar Hassanpouryouzband (Hssnpr@ed.ac.uk).
Apply now to join an international consortium and deliver new experimental and modelling insights relevant to natural hydrogen systems.
A career with us has a range of other benefits that can be tailored to your lifestyle:
• Competitive salary
• Generous annual leave and public holiday entitlement
• Defined benefits pension scheme
• A wide range of staff discounts
• Family-friendly initiatives and wellbeing support
• Professional development and training opportunities
View the fulljob description
How to apply
Please include the following documents in your application:
- CV
- Cover letter
- If shortlisted, 2 references will be requested before the interview.
As a valued member of our team, you can expect:
- A competitive salary.
- An exciting, positive, creative, challenging and rewarding place to work.
- To be part of a diverse and vibrant international community.
- Comprehensive Staff Benefits, including generous annual leave entitlement, a defined benefits pension scheme, a wide range of staff discounts, family-friendly initiatives, and flexible work options. Check out the full list on our staff benefits pageand use our reward calculator to discover the 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.
We welcome applications from all qualified candidates.
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 2nd April 2026.
Unless stated otherwise the closing time for applications is 11:59pm UK time. If you are applying outside the UK the closing time on our adverts automatically adjusts to your browsers local time zone.
