King's College London

About us

The Department of Physics at King’s College London is diverse, international and friendly with a positive atmosphere of collaboration and support between research groups.

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 department is principally located on the Strand Campus in the heart of central London.  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  

The department is located in the faculty of Natural and Mathematical Science, the University is making investment into this faculty 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.  

About the role

The Department of Physics is seeking to appoint a Lecturer in Physics (AI) to undertake high-quality original research in areas of AI and exoplanetary science that fall within the scope of the SED (Space Exochemistry Data) Group in the Physics Department and to help in the delivery and development of high-quality undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. 

The research goals of the SED group involve the study of the planets in our Galaxy through the design and implementation of new space satellites and data science techniques. We will support the candidate to continue to develop a novel and internationally distinctive portfolio of personal research.

The successful candidate must have developed a creative, original and distinctive research vision, a high-quality publication record and should have the potential to secure external research funding.  We are looking for researchers with the qualities to build a team, who can function within a group and who possess the ability to provide high-quality teaching.

We seek candidates who can demonstrate creativity, enthusiasm for group, intergroup and interdepartmental collaboration and qualities which will help maintain and enhance the culture of the Physics Department. 

Ensuring an inclusive and supportive working and learning environment is a key part of the Department of Physics' equality and diversity strategy. In 2024 the Department of Physics was awarded Juno Champion status and an Athena SWAN Silver award, in recognition of its work to embed equality of opportunity in all areas of work and ensure that all members and prospective members of staff and students are treated solely on merit, ability and potential.  We want new staff to embrace and support our efforts in this area.

This is a full-time post (35 Hours per week), and you will be offered an indefinite contract.

About you

To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience:

 Essential criteria

1.      PhD and postdoctoral experience in Physics, Astrophysics or related discipline.

2.      To have developed a creative and distinctive research vision within the fields of exoplanetary science and AI, which complements existing research in the SED group and will bolster its international reputation of excellence.

3.      Ability to teach relevant subjects at undergraduate and postgraduate level in the Department and to convey conceptual and complex ideas and information.

4.      Good presentational, organisational and administrative skills, highly effective oral and written communication skills.  Potential to provide academic leadership, to function within a team and to plan and prioritise workload.

Desirable criteria

1.      Experience in teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate level

2.      Success in securing research grants

3.      Experience in AI and Data science techniques

4.      Experience in relevant experiments related to exoplanetary science (e.g. JWST, Ariel)

5.      Experience in molecular spectroscopy

Downloading a copy of our Job Description

Full details of the role and the skills, knowledge and experience required can be found in the Job Description document, provided at the bottom of the next page after you click “Apply Now”. This document will provide information of what criteria will be assessed at each stage of the recruitment process.