Research fellow in thermofluid topology optimisation

Overview

The University of Southampton invites applications for a Research Fellow position within the Department of Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering. This fixed-term, full-time role is part of an Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council funded project focused on creating advanced computational methods for large-scale thermofluid topology optimisation. The work centers on utilizing an in-house framework to design high-performance fluid and thermal systems that involve turbulent flow and heat transfer.

The position requires contributing to the creation of scalable optimisation algorithms, adjoint-based sensitivity analysis, high-performance computational fluid dynamics, and the handling of complex multi-physics design problems. The appointee will extend and apply topology optimisation capabilities to challenging three-dimensional thermofluid systems, focusing on numerical robustness, computational efficiency, and large-scale design spaces. This appointment sits inside a broader collaborative programme that includes expertise in experimental fluid mechanics and high-fidelity flow simulation.

Requirements

Candidates need a strong background in numerical optimisation, computational fluid dynamics, high-performance computing, or a closely related field. Familiarity with OpenFOAM is preferred. Additional experience in topology optimisation, adjoint methods, heat transfer, turbulent flow modelling, or high-performance computing is considered advantageous.

What you get

The salary range for this position is 37,369 to 41,885 British pounds per annum.

Key dates

The closing date for applications is 2026-11-25.