The Opportunity: 

We seek a postdoctoral research associate (PDRA) for a 33-month position to work on the UK NERC-funded pushing the frontiers grant “Attributable impacts from extreme weather events”. The project will develop a novel reanalysis-based system to translate recent and historical extreme weather events into warmer or cooler (‘counter-factual’) climates and examine how their meteorological consequences and impacts are changed. The project will be in collaboration with researchers at the University of Reading (P.I. Ed Hawkins) with the Edinburgh position focused on estimating how the impacts of recent extreme weather events would change if they had occurred in a cooler pre-industrial world (thus attributing impacts to the observed warming of the climate system), or if they were to occur in a warmer future world. The project will consider many different types of extreme weather event, including heavy rainfall, windstorms, heatwaves and droughts, and examine the consequences of those weather events for society, including damage to property and flooding. 

This post is fixed term for 33 months, full-time (35 hours per week), however, we are open to considering part-time or flexible working patterns.  We are also open to considering requests for hybrid working (on a non-contractual basis) that combines a mix of remote and regular on-campus working.   

Your skills and attributes for success:  

PhD in a highly quantitative subject, such as, but not limited to, meteorology, physics, earth observation 

Expertise in relevant approaches analysing weather or climate data, or data from related physical systems  

Knowledge of scientific programming in languages such as Python, Matlab, or related computer skills 

Proven ability to work both independently and as part of a team 

Experience of disseminating findings through scientific publications and conference presentations 

Click to view a copy of the full job description (opens new browser tab)  

To support your application, please provide a CV and Cover Letter.

As a valued member of our team you can expect:  

A competitive salary of Grade UE07 £40,247-£47,874 per annum.   

An exciting, positive, creative, challenging and rewarding place to work.  

To be part of a diverse and vibrant international community, both at the University of Edinburgh and as part of the project team. 

Comprehensive Staff Benefits, such as a generous holiday entitlement, a defined benefits pension scheme, staff discounts, family-friendly initiatives, and flexible work options. Check out the full list on our staff benefits page (opens in a new tab) and use our reward calculator to discover the total 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 (opens new browser tab).

The University is able to sponsor the employment of international workers in this role.  If successful, an international applicant requiring sponsorship to work in the UK will need to satisfy the UK Home Office’s English Language requirements and apply for and secure a Skilled Worker Visa.  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 4 February 2025. 

Unless stated otherwise the closing time for applications is 11:59pm GMT. If you are applying outside the UK the closing time on our adverts automatically adjusts to your browsers local time zone.  
Interviews will be held in Mid-February.

Start date: 1^st March or as soon after as possible.