King's College London

About us

The Faculty:   

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

We are seeking a highly motivated and experienced researcher, holding a PhD in Biophysics, Physics, Physical Chemistry, biochemistry or related disciplines that has experience and is interested in different aspects of molecular and cellular mechanobiology. The candidate will work with single molecule techniques, including AFM and magnetic tweezers techniques to study the nanomechanical properties of proteins involved in cellular mechanotransduction.

The project is funded by the Wellcome Trust. The project will be developed between the Department of Physics at King’s College London and the Francis crick Institute. 

Within King’s, you will be part of the department of Physics, which belongs to the Faculty of Natural, Mathematical & Engineering Sciences (NMES). Supporting our staff is important to us and we offer a range of provision including flexible working, caring support, and training opportunities. The university is making significant investment in the Faculty and both student and staff numbers are growing. Our staff come from over 45 countries and around 56% of our students are from outside the UK.

Further details are available at www.kcl.ac.uk/nms

Further information may be found at: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/physics 

Key responsibilities

• Develop high quality research in the field of mechanobiology   
• Contribute to publications arising from this project
• Contribute fully to developing and enhancing the research profile of the Department, Faculty, and University, including establishing a track record of high-quality publications
• Use new research techniques and methods
• Identify areas for research, develop new research methods and extend the research portfolio

This is a full-time post (35 hours per week), and you will be offered an a fixed term contract until 01/11/2027.

Research staff at King’s are entitled to at least 10 days per year (pro-rata) for professional development. This entitlement, from the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers, applies to Postdocs, Research Assistants, Research and Teaching Technicians, Teaching Fellows and AEP equivalent up to and including grade 7. Visit the Centre for Research Staff Development for more information.

About you

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

Essential criteria

1.       Hold a PhD in Biophysics, Physics, Physical Chemistry, Biochemistry, or related disciplines.

2.       Extensive demonstrable experience with single molecule techniques, especially with magnetic tweezers and AFM 

3.       Strong track record in the biophysics field according to experience 

4.       Research experience, laboratory skills & ability to use/manage lab instrumentation.   

5.       Experience in student supervision, grant writing and project design 

Desirable criteria

1.       Experience with cell mechanics experiments

2.       Experience with AFM applied to cells

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 page. This document will provide information of what criteria will be assessed at each stage of the recruitment process.

* 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.

As part of this commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion and through this appointment process, it is our aim to develop candidate pools that include applicants from all backgrounds and communities.

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.