Lecturer / Senior Lecturer (Assistant / Associate Professor) in Astrophysics

Lecturer / Senior Lecturer (Assistant / Associate Professor) in Astrophysics
 
About the role

The Department of Physics at the University of Bath is seeking to appoint a Lecturer / Senior Lecturer with a strong research profile in astrophysics. Any exceptional candidate with a research profile that aligns well with the research strengths of the Bath Astrophysics Group will be considered, but we particularly encourage applicants with a research profile in observational time-domain astrophysics.
 
The Bath Astrophysics Group (https://www.bath.ac.uk/research-groups/astrophysics/) has an international reputation in Galaxy and extragalactic astrophysics, including relativistic transients and their host galaxies, extreme matter physics, multi-messenger astronomy, galaxy evolution, galaxy – black hole coevolution, variable stars and cosmology. Group members are active in numerous international science collaborations, making use of and developing capabilities for major astronomical facilities such as JWST, VRO-LSST, CTA, SKA, Cosmic Explorer, and eXTP. Bath is an institutional member of the 4MOST consortium, and hosts on-campus as well as cloud computational facilities for data-intensive research.

The University of Bath is a leading research-intensive University. In the previous REF2021 assessment, 96% of the Department’s submitted research activity was ranked world-leading or internationally excellent in terms of originality, significance and rigour. The Department, which graduates approximately 120 high-calibre undergraduate students each year, consists of over 40 academic staff with over 50 postdoctoral researchers & PhD students. Both the Department and the University are committed to providing an encouraging and inclusive work environment. We truly believe that diversity of experience, perspectives, and backgrounds will lead to a better environment for our employees and students, so we encourage applications from all genders, backgrounds, and communities, particularly from under-represented groups, and value the positive impact that will have on our teams.

About you

The successful candidate will establish a well-funded, independent research programme that complements and enhances existing activities in the group and around the university, for instance by forming links within the research group, as well as, for example, the Departments of Computer Science or Mathematical Sciences. The appointee will also contribute to the undergraduate and postgraduate teaching and supervision, and administrative duties within the Department.

Further information

This is a full-time, open-ended role (36.5 hours per week), with an expected start date from September 2026.

For informal enquiries about the role and the Department, please contact Bath Astrophysics Research Group Leader Dr Hendrik van Eerten ([email protected]).

In addition to the application form, please upload the following for the second shortlisting stage:

- your CV and a cover letter, including a full list of publications;
- a statement describing proposed research activities, including comments on your fit to the department and your plans regarding research funding (maximum two pages of A4);
- a statement discussing your approach to undergraduate teaching (maximum one page of A4).

We consider ourselves to be a university where difference is celebrated, respected and encouraged. We have an excellent international reputation with staff from over 60 different nations and have made a positive commitment towards gender equity and intersectionality receiving a Silver Athena SWAN award. We truly believe that diversity of experience, perspectives, and backgrounds will lead to a better environment for our employees and students and encourage applications from all genders, backgrounds, and communities, particularly from under-represented groups, and value the positive impact that will have on the university. We are committed to maintaining a safe and secure environment for our students, staff, and community by reinforcing our Safer Recruitment commitment.

We're very proud to be a signatory of the Armed Forces Covenant, an accredited Disability Confident Leader, and an autism friendly university, committed to building disability confidence and supporting disabled staff.

What we can offer you

We're continually expanding our benefits package to better support you and enhance your experience with us, and the below is just an example of some of the many great benefits we offer:

- Employee assistance services through Health Assured, including access to the Wisdom app
- Generous annual leave allowance with an additional 5 discretionary days so that you can enjoy a positive work life balance
- Generous employer contributory pension schemes
- Cycle to work scheme
- Electric vehicle salary sacrifice scheme
- Staff discount at Team Bath gym
- Staff benefits, including discounted postgraduate tuition and language courses, alongside a wide range of personal and professional development opportunities such as apprenticeships, LinkedIn Learning, and more
- Local discounts, including free entry to the Holburne Museum in Bath
- A family-friendly workplace
- An excellent reward package that recognises the talents of our diverse workforce
- Relocation allowance
- Visa reimbursement and Interest-Free Loan to help with the cost of some immigration expenses

Find out more about our benefits and watch the video to hear from our staff about what makes the University of Bath a great place to work as well as following us on X and LinkedIn.

Be Well at Bath

We’re committed to creating a health-supporting working environment where everyone can thrive and be at their best. We offer a range of resources to enable you to do that from your first day here, including:

- Staff support groups and networks
- A network of Staff Wellbeing Champions
- A suite of tools, resources and frameworks that enable you to be at your best and thrive

Find out more about being at your best at Bath.