Research Fellow - School of Engineering - 107453 - Grade 7

Position Details

School of Engineering

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. As this vacancy has limited funding the maximum salary that can be offered is Grade 7, salary £37,694.

Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to April 2027

Closing date: 24th May 2026

Background

The position is for a researcher to deliver a set of research objectives in a Horizon Europe consortium project involving multiple academic and industrial partners. The researcher will primarily work within the Emerging Device technology Research Lab, a member of the Communications and Sensing Research Group at the School of Engineering. The work will involve critical literature survey, theoretical analysis, computer aided design, device prototyping and experimental verification. The post holder will be expected to deliver research objectives in a timely manner. He/she will also contribute to disseminate the research outputs in the form of technical reports, presentations or research papers as appropriate. 

Role Summary

• Work within specified research projects
• Operate within area of specialism
• Analyse and interpret research findings and results 
• Contribute to public understanding of the discipline or similar and/or licensing or spin out deals with demonstrated commercial success
• Contribute to exploring new funded or unfunded project opportunities (including writing bids) 

Main Duties

The responsibilities may include some but not all of the responsibilities outlined below.

• Deliver research objectives for the specified research project
• Deal with problems that may affect the achievement of research objectives and deadlines;
• Apply knowledge in a way which develops new intellectual understanding;
• Analyse and interpret data
• Disseminate research findings through publications, technical reports, conferences etc
• Supervise students on research related work and provide guidance to PhD students where appropriate to the discipline
• Contribute to developing new concepts, techniques and methods 
• Undertake management/administration arising from the research project
• Contribute to writing bids for research funding

Person Specification

• First degree in area of engineering or related science, and a PhD degree (or close to completion) relevant to antenna engineering or equivalent qualifications
• Extensive experience in antenna array development including their design and manufacturing and proven track record in high-quality research publications in relevant fields 
• Fluency in the use of relevant design tools, fabrication techniques and measurement methods, and ability to contribute to developing new ones
• Ability to select and optimise materials and fabrication techniques for the development of new and novel antenna systems 
• Good knowledge of microwave and mm-wave front-ends and wireless system architecture 
• Ability to communicate technical information effectively
• Good level analytical capability
• Ability to assess resource requirements and use resources effectively 
• Contribute to the planning and organising of the research project
• Co-ordinate own work with others, both within the research team and with external partners, to ensure timely delivery of the tasks, avoid conflict or duplication of effort

Informal enquiries to Professor Yi Wang, email: y.wang.1@bham.ac.uk 

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.