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, Cell Biology 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. They will also use cell biology approaches combined with fluorescence microscopy and optogenetic techniques to understand how protein mechanics regulates cellular mechanosensing and mechanobiology.

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, Cell Biology or related disciplines.
2. Extensive demonstrable experience with single molecule techniques, especially with magnetic tweezers and AFM 
3. Extensive experience in cell biophysics experiments using light microscopy  
4. Strong track record in the biophysics field according to experience 
5. Research experience, laboratory skills & ability to use/manage lab instrumentation.   
6. Experience in student supervision, grant writing and project design 

Desirable criteria

1. Experience with cell mechanics experiments
2. Experience with AFM/Magnetic Tweezers/Optical Tweezers applied to cells
3. Experience with CRISPR Cell Engineering techniques

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. 

At King’s, we believe that the diversity of our community and a culture that is welcoming, open, inclusive and collaborative, are great strengths of the university.

The Equality Act of 2010 protects the rights of our students and staff and provides a framework to fulfil our duties to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and in addition, to advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between those who share a protected characteristic and those who do not. At times, this will include balancing rights and beliefs that can feel in tension.

We are committed to free speech and to academic freedom, believing that our foundational purpose as a university, is to create spaces where a wide range of ideas, including ideas that are controversial, can be discussed and debated, and where members of our community can express lawful views without fear of intimidation, harassment or discrimination.

When engaging in the robust exchange of ideas, we ask that our community is mindful of our Dignity at King’s guidance.

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 person specification section of the job description. 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.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is evolving rapidly, and we recognise its growing role in professional work. Applicants may use AI tools to support preparation of their application, for example to research the role or structure written responses. However, applications must reflect the applicant’s own work and experience. AI tools should not be used during interviews or assessment activities unless this has been agreed in advance as a reasonable adjustment. Further guidance on the use of AI in recruitment can be found  here.

We reserve the right to close adverts early due to the volume of applications we receive. While the closing date may change, all adverts will close at 23:59 to allow sufficient time for applications to be submitted on that day.

We encourage you to apply at the earliest opportunity to avoid disappointment as once we have closed a vacancy you will be unable to submit your application.

To find out how our managers will review your application, please take a look at our ‘How we Recruit’  pages.