Research Associate in Operations of Flexible Data Centres

Research Associate in Operations of Flexible Data Centres

Job number ENG03970 Faculties Faculty of Engineering Departments Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering Salary or Salary range £49,017 - £57,582 per annum Location/campus South Kensington Campus - Hybrid Contract type work pattern Full time - Fixed term Posting End Date 23 Jul 2026

About the role

Would you like to work on innovative research at the intersection of computing and power systems that can make a real difference in powering data centres?

We are excited to invite applications for a postdoctoral Research Associate at the Global Energy Centre "EPICS" ( Electric Power Innovation for a Carbon-Free Society ). At this interdisciplinary Centre, you will be undertaking research to investigate how data centre operations could be adapted to accelerate the connection of data centres to the power system and control their impact on power systems. Your research will be grounded in computing and power system optimisation, working with Dr Marios Kogias (Department of Computing) and Dr Elina Spyrou (Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering).

What you would be doing

• You will be adapting and developing models for workload management in data centres.
• You will collaborate with power system researchers to assess how innovative workload management schemes could impact power system costs and improve time to connection.
• You will monitor, summarize, and participate in ongoing discussions about connections of data centres to power systems.
• You will disseminate your findings through the publication of original findings in international conferences and participation in relevant industry working groups involving UK and global partners of EPICS and the Global Power System Transformation Consortium.

Involvement in teaching activities such as supervision of MEng and MSc theses is possible but not mandatory.

What we are looking for

• 1. The successful candidate should have completed a PhD in Computer Science or a similar relevant discipline. Candidates with a PhD near completion will be considered for appointment as a Research Assistant, with promotion on successful completion (after all corrections have been accepted by the examiners and the awarding university has accepted this).
• 2. Experience in workload and resource management models for data centres, with a particular focus in techniques that handle uncertainty and bursty workloads.
• 3. Ability to construct optimization models in one or more software; familiarity with Python or Julia would be an advantage.
• 4. Familiarity with mathematical programming or microeconomics would be an advantage.
• 5. Excellent academic writing and presentation skills.
• 6. Independence in thought and action and creative thinking that can lead to the development of highly impactful solutions and high-quality publications.

What we can offer you

• The opportunity to continue your career at a world-leading institution and be part of our mission to advance science for sustainability.
• The EPICS consortium is made up of universities in the UK (funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council), Australia and the US, and our industrial partners include several of the world’s leading companies. You may have the opportunity to visit for a short period at one of these partner universities or companies.
• Sector-leading salary and remuneration package (including 41 days off a year and generous pension schemes).
• Be part of a diverse, inclusive, and collaborative work culture with various staff networks and resources to support your personal and professional wellbeing.

Further information

This role is for a full-time fixed-term contract for 12 months in the first instance.

EEO Statement

We work towards equality of opportunity, to eliminating discrimination, and to creating an inclusive working environment for all. We encourage applications from all backgrounds, communities and industries, and are committed to employing a team that has diverse skills, experiences and abilities. Proud signatory of the Armed Forces Covenant. We welcome applications from the Armed Forces community.