We are excited to launch this new opportunity for a Research Associate/Research Assistant in Quantum Modelling to join us in the Quantum Group in the School of Computing. You will join a diverse community of colleagues based in our state-of-the-art Urban Sciences Building, in the Newcastle Helix Campus, 10 mins walk from Newcastle Central Station. You’ll be working with Dr Jonte Hance, Head of the Quantum Group and an emerging leader in quantum foundations and quantum information, and Dr Barbara-Anne Robertson (School of Psychology), a behavioural neuroscientist focussed on understanding emotional memory. The position is funded under Dr Robertson and Dr Hance’s UKRI Cross Research Council Responsive Mode Grant Quantum Emotions: Using the Quantum Formalism to explain temporal order effects in memory for emotional events. This project involves applying the quantum formalism to model experimental observations of human emotional memory performance and the neural systems that support it, to better understand both systems. You will work closely with internal collaborators, external project partners (including at Nagoya University, Ritsumeikan University, and the National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology, in Japan, and Linnaeus University, in Sweden), and new and developing external collaborators.
We are particularly keen to hear from those with a passion for collaboration and the ability to interact and engage with a diverse network of specialists. We are ideally looking for candidates who have experience in either quantum measurement theory or tensor network methods, but are still very keen to hear from candidates without expertise in either of these areas, so long as they have experience in the broad area of quantum information science and technology, and an interest in quantum foundations and psychology more specifically.
The role is currently funded for two years, but we will be hoping to obtain funding to extend the position further. We are happy to consider flexible and/or part-time working for the role. We are ideally looking for a candidate who has either already been awarded their PhD, or who is in their final year of a PhD programme, and would be set to submit their thesis prior to starting the role. In the latter case, due to institutional requirements the position would be at Research Assistant level until the PhD was awarded.
As a UKRI-funded role, the successful applicant is eligible for the Endorsed Funder Route of the Global Talent Visa, costs for which can be funded from the grant.
We want you to feel confident when applying for a position with Newcastle University. If you’d like an informal discussion to clarify any points, please contact jonte.hance@newcastle.ac.uk. We are committed to making the process accessible to everyone and can provide additional support to adjustments to meet your needs.
To apply, please submit an application, including CV and cover letter, via Application Portal. The Cover Letter should include examples of how you meet the essential and desirable criteria in the Job Description (due to institutional policy, whether you get invited to interview is based on how well you match these criteria).
Interviews will be held at least one week after close of applications – if you are unsuccessful in getting an interview, we will let you know at this point. After interviews, we will be in contact to let interviewed candidates know the results of their application as soon as possible. The candidate could then start as soon as two weeks after interviews and would ideally start no later than October 2026.
The post is full time, fixed term for 2 years.
