About

• Position Details
• School of Physics and Astronomy
• Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK
• Full time starting salary is normally in the range £36,636 to £46,049 with potential progression once in post to £48,822
• Grade: 7
• Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to September 2027
• Closing date: 10th March 2026
• UK and International travel may be required for this role.
• Background
• The Birmingham Particle Physics group has a vacancy for a Research Fellow to work on the ATLAS experiment at the CERN LHC, focussing primarily on aspects of the first-level trigger systems, the calorimeter trigger (L1Calo) and the new “Global” first-level trigger which will be added in the coming years. Members of the Birmingham ATLAS team lead both the L1Calo and Global trigger projects. Specifically, the successful applicant will work, together with the team, on online software for control and monitoring of the trigger, with performance studies.
• The Particle Physics group currently has 12 academic staff, 17 post-doctoral researchers and engineers, 3 support staff and 19 research students. Beyond the trigger, our ATLAS activities include upgrade tracker (ITk) construction, top and Higgs boson physics, and beyond ATLAS the group works on LHCb, current and future kaon experiments, the future Brookhaven Electron Ion Collider, with non-accelerator interests in direct Dark Matter searches. We operate substantial laboratory space, including a 200 m2 set of clean room facilities, and we maintain a Tier 2 site as part of the UK contribution to LHC world-wide distributed computing.
• The School of Physics and Astronomy is an Institute of Physics Juno Champion since 2014 and holder of the Athena SWAN Silver Award. Both initiatives recognise the School’s commitment to promote diversity and equality, and to encourage better practice for all members of the community, whilst also working towards developing an equitable working culture in which all students and staff can achieve their full potential.
• Role Summary
• Work within and support the activities of the Elementary Particle Physics group in the ATLAS experiment related to trigger online software
• Work with local, national and international collaborators to successfully deliver high quality research outcomes
• Analyse and interpret research findings and results
• Contribute to writing bids for grants and projects; contribute to generating funding
• Contribute to licensing or spin out deals with demonstrated commercial success and/or public understanding of the discipline or similar
• Main Duties
• The responsibilities may include some but not all of the responsibilities outlined below.
• Conduct a research programme, defined in agreement with the group
• Fulfil group responsibilities on development of trigger online software for ATLAS, and other responsibilities in the ATLAS team
• Collect, analyse and interpret data related to the research project
• Apply knowledge in a way which develops new intellectual understanding
• Take a prominent role in delivering the research goals of the group
• Conduct individual and collaborative research projects
• Provide guidance, as required, to support staff and any students who may be assisting with the research
• Contribute to writing bids for research funding
• Apply knowledge in a way which develops new intellectual understanding
• Disseminate research findings for publication, research seminars etc
• Supervise students on research related work and provide guidance to PhD students where appropriate to the discipline
• Communicate complex information and material of a specialist or highly technical nature
• Contribute to developing new models, techniques and methods
• Contribute to Departmental/School research-related activities and research-related administration
• Contribute to enterprise, business development and/or public engagement activities of manifest benefit to the Department and the University
• Deal with problems that may affect the achievement of research objectives and deadlines
• Continually update own knowledge and understanding in field or specialism
• Ensure compliance with health and safety in all aspects of work
• Promotes equality and values diversity acting as a role model and fostering an inclusive working culture
• Travel and spend periods at CERN as necessary
• Person Specification
• Hold (or near to completion) a PhD in Experimental Particle Physics or another relevant scientific discipline
• Experience in trigger systems for large particle physics experiments
• Experience in scientific computing relevant to an online environment
• Proven track record of research in experimental particle physics
• High level analytical capability
• Ability to communicate complex information clearly
• Fluency in relevant models, techniques or methods of experimental particle physics and ability to contribute to developing new ones
• Ability to assess resource requirements and use resources effectively
• Excellent planning and time management skills to ensure your research objectives are achieved on schedule
• Ability to work effectively both independently and as part of a research team
• Contribute to the planning and organising of the research programme and/or specific research project
• Co-ordinate own work with others to avoid conflict or duplication of effort
• Knowledge of the protected characteristics of the Equality Act 2010, and how to actively ensure in day-to-day activity in own area that those with protected characteristics are treated equally and fairly
• Desirable Criterion Description
• Experience of scientific programming, e.g. with C++, Python, ROOT or similar.
• Informal enquiries to Professor Dave Charlton, email: dave.charlton@cern.ch
• View our staff values and behaviours here
• Use of AI in applications: We want to understand your genuine interest in the role and for the written elements of your application to accurately reflect your own communication style. Applications that rely too heavily on AI tools can appear generic and lack the detail we need to assess your skills and experience. Such applications will unlikely be progressed to interview.
• We believe there is no such thing as a 'typical' member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We are also committed to sustainability, which is a key part of our strategy. You can find out more about our work to create a fairer university for everyone on our website.