Research Associate

Grade UE07: £41,064.00 - £48,822.00 per annum; pro-rata if part time

College of Science & Engineering / School of Informatics 

Full-Time: 35 hours per week

Fixed-Term: 24 months contract

Help us redefine what’s possible. Be part of something bigger.   

The University isn’t just any employer. We are part of a local community and a contributor to global thinking, progress and research. In Edinburgh, you are in one of the world’s most attractive cities with active arts and social sectors, while working in a University that has made significant contributions to society, medicine, physics and teaching for over four centuries. Our people have helped create the modern world and are working on more ground-breaking technologies and practices. 

The University of Edinburgh is a world-class organisation. We look for the best in the field across all disciplines and provide a working environment where academics can develop their careers and passion for their chosen subject area. We offer the full range of academic roles and have a genuine focus on our student’s performance and wellbeing. 

The Opportunity: 

We are pleased to announce a fully funded Postdoctoral Research Associate position in the areas of SLAM, large-scale graph optimisation, and multi-modal robotic perception at School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh, UK. This position is part of a new research programme led by Dr Liang Zhao focusing on next-generation estimation and optimisation techniques for large-scale graph optimisation problems and intelligent robotic perception. 

People have always been at the heart of our work. Our people are at the centre of the University community and everything we do. We value colleagues with drive, determination and a passion for what they do. We are a place where everyone is welcome and offer a range of policies and benefits designed to support you in building the right meaningful flexibility that works for you. 

This post is full-time (35 hours per week); however, we are open to considering part-time or flexible working patterns. The team currently operates a 100%, i.e. 5 days, on-campus working arrangement which has been agreed by the line manager.  

A career with us has a range of other benefits that can be tailored to your lifestyle:  

• Opportunities to develop new skills and broaden your experience 
• Leading-edge research 
• Opportunities for publication 
• Working within one of the world’s leading universities  

View the full job description

How to apply 

Please include the following documents in your application: 

• CV with full publication list 
• Cover Letter 

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 page and 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.  

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. Please note if the role is offered on a part-time basis, it may result in sponsorship being dependent on a number of factors specific to the successful applicant or the role no longer meeting the Home Office’s criteria for sponsorship.

Key dates to note 

The closing date for applications is 30th July 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. 

Informatics is the study of how natural and artificial systems store, process and communicate information. Research in Informatics promises to take information technology to a new level, and to place information at the heart of 21st century science, technology and society.  The School enjoys collaborations across many disciplines in the University, spanning all three College, and also participates as a strategic partner in the Alan Turing Institute and is home to a number of Centres for Doctoral Training.

The School provides a fertile environment for a wide range of studies focused on understanding computation in both artificial and natural systems. It attracts students around the world to study in our undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. Informatics is one of seven schools in the College of Science and Engineering, at the University of Edinburgh. It is recognised for the employability of its graduates, its contributions to entrepreneurship, and the excellence of its research. Since the first Research Assessment Exercise in 1986, Informatics at Edinburgh has consistently been assessed to have more internationally excellent and world-class research than any other submission in Computer Science and Informatics. The latest REF 2021 results have again confirmed that ours is the largest concentration of internationally excellent research in the UK. This contributes to our ranking of consistently being in the top 30 world-wide.

We aim to ensure that our culture and systems support flexible and family-friendly working and recognise and value diversity across all our staff and students. The School has an active programme offering support and professional development for all staff; providing mentoring, training, and networking opportunities.