Postdocs and Research Fellowships

This page details postdoctoral and fellowship opportunities with the Astrophysics Group at Bristol. The Group actively encourages applications for research fellowships to be hosted by us at Bristol. We have expertise in the Group and extensive support from the University to help you prepare your applications.

If you are interested in us supporting your fellowship application, please contact the fellowship coordinator Dr Hannah Wakeford, or Astrophysics Theme Lead Dr Zoe Leinhardt with your details and area of interest. There may be internal selection processes for fellowships, these will be detailed below throughout the year. Please do contact us to express your interest in advance of any fellowship or internal deadlines so we can direct you to the right information as early as possible.

Upcoming positions and deadlines

Research Associate / Senior Research Associate in Exoplanet Atmospheres

Dr Hannah Wakeford in the Astrophysics Group at the University of Bristol received funding for a UKRI Frontiers Research Program through the European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant 2022 awards to conduct research in the field of exoplanet characterization. The position is a full-time open-ended contract with a guarantee of three years funding (or ending on 31/05/2028 depending on which comes first). The appointed researcher will work with Dr Wakeford and her team to analyse and interpret measurements of transiting exoplanets from JWST and the Hubble Space Telescope to determine their multi-dimensional properties. They will be expected to develop and/or implement novel techniques on observational data. The successful applicant will work in a group of PhD students and Postdocs and take a role in international collaborations associated with transiting exoplanet observations.

Applications go through the Bristol Portal a cover letter, CV, and research statement including information on previous and current work alongside plans for the future (research statement no more than 3 pages). Please also provide information for two referees (this does not have to be your PhD supervisor but should be able to talk directly to your research).

Deadline: July 1st 23:59 BST

STFC Ernest Rutherford Fellowship Call

Internal selection for the STFC Ernest Rutherford Fellowships in Astrophysics will be conducted in a uniform process alongside Particle Physics and Earth Sciences. Applicants interested in taking an ERF to Bristol Astrophysics should contact our Theme Lead Dr Zoe Leinhardt and School of Physics Research Director Professor Stephen Hayden.

Enquiries and preliminary applications should be submitted before June 28th

Internal Fellowship Selection Calls

The Astrophysics Group encourages applications to the following fellowships for internal selection prior to the funding calls:

Internal Selection Deadline: June 28th 23:59 BST. Funding call Closes: September

Royal Society University Research Fellowships Funding call expected: Opens July, Closes September.
MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships as part of the European Council Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions Funding call: Open now, Closes September.

Internal Selection Deadline: July 15th 23:59 BST. Funding call Closes: October

Royal Astronomical Society Research and Norman Lockyer Fellowships Funding call expected: Opens July, Closes October.
Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowships Funding call expected: Opens September, Closes October.

Applications and enquiries should be sent to Hannah Wakeford by the deadline shown. Applications should include a 2-page CV and a 1-page research outline including information for which fellowship you are applying for and why Bristol is a good fit for your proposed work. Internal selection will take place prior to award support. Applicants will be informed of the selection process in time for the release of the appropriate funding call.

The following fellowships typically provide support for research in topics aligned with our Group’s research: