Research Assistant (Marie Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Candidate)

Overview

Imperial College London is recruiting two Doctoral Candidates in its Department of Physics to work in the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Network SPARK, devoted to spatiotemporal metamaterials and structured light fields. The network provides multidisciplinary training leading to PhDs awarded by Imperial. Its goal is to train 15 doctoral candidates who will become future research and development staff in this area, and to build links between industry partners and academic partners including Eindhoven University of Technology (the coordinator), Umea University, INESC MN in Lisbon, the Universite de Namur, Universidad Publica de Navarra, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid and Imperial. The result should be new understanding and new photonic technologies based on spatiotemporal metamaterials and structured light.

Projects involve close interaction with partners in industry and academia, a high degree of teamwork and interdisciplinary research, and secondments at a partner organisation. The two candidates at Imperial each work on an experimental project under Professor Riccardo Sapienza: Project DC4, Time-Varying Metamaterials for Light, and Project DC9, Space-Time Beams for and from Space-Time Metamaterials.

Who can apply

Applicants need a Master's degree in physics or equivalent, an interest in nanophotonics, ultrafast optics or metamaterials, experience of a Master's research project in a relevant experimental field, and excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to develop new concepts. Under the rules of the Doctoral Networks, applicants must not have lived or carried out their main activity in the UK for more than 12 months in the 3 years before taking up the post, and must not yet have been awarded a doctoral degree.

What you get

The post lasts 36 months and is full time and fixed term, with an approximate salary range of £35,470 to £46,863 per annum, which may vary significantly with the exchange rate.

How to apply

Applications include a full CV and a two-page research statement, in addition to the supporting statement on the application form, setting out interesting research issues for the post and why the applicant's expertise is relevant, and stating clearly which project they wish to be considered for.

Key dates

The closing date is 15 November 2026.