Postdoctoral Researcher, NHMDeepSea Group

About Us

We are a world‑class visitor attraction and leading science research centre. We use the Museum's unique collections and our unrivalled expertise to tackle the biggest challenges facing the world today. We care for more than 80 million objects spanning billions of years and welcome more than five million visitors annually and 16 million visits to our website. Today the Museum is more relevant and influential than ever. By attracting people from a range of backgrounds to work for us, we can continue to look at the world with fresh eyes and find new ways of doing things. We employ 1100 staff in a variety of roles, all united by our vision of a future where people and planet thrive. We need everyone to have the passion and drive to help us with our mission to create advocates for our planet and inspire millions to care about the natural world. Diversity and inclusion matter to us.

Our vision is of a future where both people and the planet thrive. Diversity is one of our core values and we strive to build a workplace where everyone feels a sense of belonging. All new staff who join us learn about the importance of diversity and inclusion to the Museum and how to contribute to creating an inclusive environment. We know we have more to do, but we are committed to ensuring that everyone who works at the Museum feels they can thrive and feel valued and respected.

About the role

The NHM Deep‑Sea Systematics and Ecology Research Group (#NHMDeepSea Group) is studying the natural history of the deep sea. We are interested in the origins, adaptive radiation, classification, biodiversity and ecological interactions of animals in the world's largest ecosystem and a new frontier of deep‑ocean industrial activity.

The Post‑Doctoral Research Assistant will lead taxonomic, evolutionary and ecological studies of deep‑sea invertebrates from the Cook Islands Exclusive Economic Zone, a region where there are few records of deep‑sea macrofaunal sampling. The post holder will lead on using integrative DNA and morphological methods to identify benthic invertebrate specimens collected from two research expeditions and collaborate with project partners from the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) in Southampton and the Norwegian Research Centre (NORCE) to collate the data generated from the project and report on these to our client.

The research will focus on the abundance, community structure and biodiversity of sediment‑dwelling and nodule‑dwelling invertebrate macrofauna, the connectivity of the sampled regions in terms of species range and biogeography, and whether there are any apparent temporal trends between the samples from the two research expeditions.

The candidate will require expertise in invertebrate DNA taxonomy, including but not limited to barcoding, and have extensive data management and analysis experience, managing data input from multiple individuals across institutes. The role may be required to co‑supervise research assistants in sample sorting deep‑sea invertebrates in the lab. The role may also require leading at‑sea biological sampling, though this is not confirmed. The appointed candidate will be expected to lead client reports including the end of project report, lead and co‑lead scientific publications resulting from the project and to participate in science communication and public engagement activities that the NHM Deep Sea Lab are involved with.

About you

You will bring substantial experience in invertebrate sequencing alongside taxonomic knowledge to the role. You are confident managing complex datasets and building collaborative relationships with project partners across multiple institutions. You are comfortable working with a wide range of stakeholders including researchers, students, curators and external partners, and have experience of team‑based working in a research lab. You will also be able to manage your own priorities and workload, and have a track record of scientific publications and report writing for funders. If you are motivated by enabling research, improving taxonomic knowledge, and contributing to the long‑term stewardship of globally significant scientific resources, you will thrive in this role.

Please note: due to external funding requirements applicants will need to be available to start the role from July 2026.

Thriving at the Museum: the way we work

We are proud to work at the Museum and have identified the qualities we all need to embody to reach our shared ambition. This sits alongside the Museum’s values and forms the framework for the way we work.

What we offer

• 27.5 days holiday plus 8 bank holidays (full time equivalent)
• Generous defined contribution Natural History Museum Pension Scheme (employer contribution 4 – 10%)
• Season ticket, bicycle and rental loan
• Life insurance
• Free admission to our exhibitions and many other paid exhibitions at museums, galleries and institutions across London and the UK.
• Staff discount at our Museum shops and cafes
• We offer a wide variety of training initiatives and opportunities to build skills. Investing in staff development is important to us, and we are ambitious about helping staff to grow and fulfil their potential.
• Affordable membership to the Civil Service Sports Council which offers a range of benefits including an extensive list of special offers and reduced entry fees at a selection of cinema chains, theme parks, theatres, retailers and supermarkets. It also provides entry to up to 300 English Heritage sites and other national treasures.
• Membership to our Sports and Social Association (for a small fee), which includes access to our in‑house gym and clubs such as football, softball, table tennis and tennis and classes in Middle Eastern dance, yoga and Tai Chi
• Hybrid working

We are working towards a vision where both people and planet thrive, and nothing gives a greater connection with this than seeing first‑hand, the visitors, scientific research and collections that all of our work is inspired by and working side by side with the teams delivering the visitor experience and events. We also recognise the benefits and flexibility that hybrid working brings. We operate a hybrid working model that requires regular, weekly attendance for this role, with the precise pattern of days on site and worked from home to be agreed with your manager.