Senior Researcher

Grade UE08: £51,258 - £62,994 per annum, pro-rata if part-time

College of Science & Engineering / School of Informatics

Full-time: 35 hours per week

Fixed-term: six-month contract

The Opportunity:

Help us redefine what’s possible. Be part of something bigger. 

 
The School of Informatics is seeking a Senior Researcher to develop AI for Science methods specialised to quantum computing. You will join the Quantum Software Lab and work with Professor Elham Kashefi, colleagues across the University of Edinburgh, and researchers in the UK quantum-computing community.

The central research question is how AI systems can take part in scientific work while remaining open to inspection and expert judgement. The remit includes systems that help researchers find and formulate hypotheses, connect scientific literature to software and experiments, use specialist tools, assess evidence, and record how a conclusion was reached. Relevant methods may come from agentic AI, neuro-symbolic systems, formal methods, language models, knowledge representation, data infrastructure or scientific software engineering. The post-holder will have scope to shape the methods and research questions pursued.

The immediate setting is a UK programme on AI-enabled quantum science. Work already under way at Edinburgh includes AI Pathfinder, which searches for useful connections across the quantum software and hardware literature, and an agent harness for research, verification and review. These are starting points rather than limits on the role. You may also work on evaluation, reproducibility, provenance, human oversight, integration with scientific models and tools, quantum computing hardware, or new approaches that arise from collaboration with quantum researchers.

You will:

• Lead the design and implementation of research software and experimental studies.
• Define evaluation methods for AI-assisted scientific work, including failure analysis and comparison with expert judgement.
• Work with quantum researchers to turn broad questions into assessable computational investigations.
• Publish and present the resulting research and release software or research artefacts where appropriate.
• Coordinate technical work with project partners and support junior researchers.
• Contribute to future research proposals and the wider development of the Quantum Software Lab.

You will have a PhD, or equivalent research experience, in computer science, artificial intelligence, quantum information, mathematics, physics or a related field. You will have evidence of independent research and the ability to design, implement and evaluate substantial computational work. That evidence may span theoretical computer science, systems and software engineering, data and knowledge systems, or computational work in fields such as biology and medicine. We value candidates who can move between theory and implementation, learn the language of a new field, and transfer methods across disciplinary boundaries. Clear writing and sound software practice are essential.

Experience in one or more of agentic AI, machine learning, formal methods, knowledge representation, scientific computing, open research infrastructure or research software engineering would be useful. Experience of quantum computing is welcome. We also encourage applications from researchers with an unusual or varied disciplinary path who can show how their work transfers to quantum science.

People have always been at the heart of our work. Our people are at the centre of the University community and everything we do. We value colleagues with drive, determination and a passion for what they do. We are a place where everyone is welcome and offer a range of policies and benefits designed to support you in building the right meaningful flexibility that works for you.

Discover more about working at the University of Edinburgh on our Jobs website.

A career with us has a range of other benefits that can be tailored to your lifestyle: 

• Leading-edge research
• Working within one of the world’s leading universities 
• Responsibility and autonomy
• Flexible/hybrid where the roles allow

Select the benefits that are best suited to the role and your team from the Benefits Headlines bank.  

This post is full-time (35 hours per week); however, we are open to considering part-time or flexible working patterns. We are also open to considering requests for hybrid working (on a non-contractual basis) that combines a mix of remote and regular on-campus working. 

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How to apply

Please include the following documents in your application:

• CV
• Cover letter

As a valued member of our team, you can expect: 

• A competitive salary. 
• An exciting, positive, creative, challenging and rewarding place to work. 
• To be part of a diverse and vibrant international community.
• Comprehensive Staff Benefits, including generous annual leave entitlement, a defined benefits pension scheme, a wide range of staff discounts, family-friendly initiatives, and flexible work options. Check out the full list on our staff benefits page (opens in a new tab) and use our reward calculator to discover the value of your pay and benefits. 

Championing equality, diversity, and inclusion

The University of Edinburgh holds a Silver Athena SWAN award in recognition of our commitment to advance gender equality in higher education. We are members of the Race Equality Charter, and we are also a Stonewall Proud Employer, actively promoting LGBTQ+ equality. 

We welcome applications from all qualified candidates.

Prior to any employment commencing with the University, you will be required to evidence your right to work in the UK. Further information is available on our right to work webpages(opens new browser tab).

The University is unable to sponsor the employment of international workers in this role. International applicants will therefore be unable to apply and secure a Skilled Worker visa. They will only be able to take up this role if they can demonstrate an alternative right to work in the UK.

Key dates to note

The closing date for applications is 12 November 2026.

Unless stated otherwise, the closing time for applications is 11:59pm UK time. If you are applying outside the UK, the closing time on our adverts automatically adjusts to your browser's local time zone. 

Interview dates to be confirmed.