Postdoctoral Research Associate Ultrafast Nonlinear Optics in Gas-Filled Fibres in Edinburgh

Role: PDRA in Ultrafast Nonlinear Optics in Gas-Filled Fibres

Grade and Salary: Grade 7 - £37,694 - £47,389 per annum

Contract Type: Full Time, Fixed Term until end December 2027

Holiday Entitlement: 33 days annual leave, plus 9 buildings closed days for all full time staff.

Purpose of Role

The Laboratory of Ultrafast Physics and Optics (LUPO) seeks a talented and motivated scientist to carry out a research programme focused on developing novel ultrafast light-source technologies in gas-filled hollow-core anti-resonant fibres. The role will involve working in close collaboration with our industry partner ASML to harness new techniques in nonlinear optics in gas-filled fibres to develop light sources with unique properties. The project is expected to lead to significant technological progress and high-impact scientific publications in the areas of ultrafast and nonlinear optics.

Key Duties & Responsibilities

• Design and perform rigorous and systematic experiments to explore new ultrafast nonlinear optics phenomena in gas-filled hollow-core optical fibres.
• Work with ultrafast optical setups, including management of advanced laser systems, the design and construction of pulse compression systems, performing ultrafast laser experiments, and building and operating optical characterization devices.
• Run existing simulation codes and process their results.
• Help to develop new models and algorithms to simulate pulse propagation, the material response, and other aspects of our experiments.
• Coding in Julia and Python.
• Take a prominent role in discussions and knowledge transfer with our industrial collaborators, including writing detailed progress reports.
• Writing, editing and publishing scientific articles in leading journals, and presenting results at international conferences.
• Assisting with the filing of intellectual property and technology transfer.
• Supervising the activities of junior group members and mentoring PhD students.
• Assisting in the day-to-day maintenance of the experimental facilities, liaising with companies and external collaborators.
• Carry out the research project to a high standard by meeting planned milestones and deliverables; reporting progress regularly to supervisors, both verbally and in written reports; keeping clear written records of work done and storing data in accessible formats according to a system agreed with the project supervisor.

The post holder will join the Laboratory of Ultrafast Physics and Optics and will be expected to work collaboratively and cooperatively in a team environment; this involves shared use of laboratory equipment.

Essential & Desirable Criteria

• A PhD in physics or engineering with a specialisation in ultrafast laser systems, ultrafast nonlinear optics, or extensive additional experience in these areas.
• Direct experience of experimental work on ultrafast lasers or ultrafast nonlinear optics.
• A record of high-quality publications, and evidence of contribution to the writing of these publications proportionate to opportunity.
• The ability to articulate research work, both in technical reports/papers and by oral presentation.
• A strong theoretical understanding and thorough grounding in experimental techniques relevant to the project.
• The ability to work as part of a team on the experiments at Heriot-Watt and more widely with collaborators at other institutions.

• Evidence of ability, subject to opportunity, to guide other researchers, e.g. PhD students and undergraduate project students.
• Evidence of ability to present work effectively in person, e.g. at conferences and seminars.
• Experience with gas-filled hollow-fibre setups, including the design and use of gas systems, beam stabilisation systems and vacuum systems.
• Experience of programming for data acquisition and analysis (preferably in Python).
• Experience of computer aided design (CAD) of components and devices.
• Experience in writing numerical pulse propagation codes.

How to Apply

Applications can be submitted up to midnight (UK time) on Monday 10th August 2026. The application requires a CV and a cover letter explaining your motivation/interest in this project to be submitted through the university portal. Candidates are requested to specifically highlight in their applications how they fulfil the essential criteria for the post.

We especially encourage applications from women and other underrepresented groups in Physics.

For more information, please send enquiry emails to Prof John Travers (j.travers@hw.ac.uk).

We welcome and will consider flexible working patterns e.g., part-time working and job share options.

Heriot-Watt University is committed to securing equality of opportunity in employment and to the creation of an environment in which individuals are selected, trained, promoted, appraised, and otherwise treated on the sole basis of their relevant merits and abilities.

About the Team

The laboratory of ultrafast physics and optics (LUPO) uses nonlinear optics to create new light sources with tailored, and extreme, spectral and temporal properties. Our work is a mix of experimentation and numerical modelling. We make use of nature’s full landscape of materials, laser beam geometries and nonlinear effects, but our favourite system is hollow waveguides filled with gases, liquids, and plasmas.

About Heriot-Watt University

At Heriot-Watt we are passionate about our values and look to them to connect our people globally and to help us collaborate and celebrate our success through working together.