Postdoctoral Research Associate┋“The Dematerialisation of Science”

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Here at the University of Edinburgh there’s a career for everyone. We can offer opportunities for you to develop in your career and make a real difference in the communities around us whilst contributing to the world at large. Our people come from a wide range of backgrounds, each bringing their abilities and experiences to our organisation. 

The University of Edinburgh is a world-class organisation. We look for the best in the field across all disciplines and provide a working environment where academics can develop their careers and passion for their chosen subject area. We offer the full range of academic roles and have a genuine focus on our student’s performance and wellbeing.

The Opportunity

The successful candidate will work alongside Dr Jo Wolff as part of the ERC Consolidator project “The Dematerialisation of Science”. The PDRA will conduct original research philosophical research on the status and role of digital archaeology for generating and communicating archaeological research. 

This post is full-time (35 hours per week), fixed term post for 36 months available from August 2026. 

Applications are invited from those with a PhD in Philosophy or a related discipline. Candidates should have expertise in the history and/or philosophy of science, ideally with a focus on the historical sciences. 

Informal enquiries may be made to the Dr Jo Wolff, jo.wolff@ed.ac.uk.  

 Please click here to view the full job description for the role.

Application information

Applicants should upload a cover letter into the online application portal along with a CV and writing sample. These documents must be uploaded in all cases. In addition, we ask you to submit the names of three referees who may be contacted at a later date (please note if you do not wish for anyone to be contacted until after an offer has been made). 

If you are currently in the process of completing your studies/PhD programme please note any relevant timescales in your cover letter and/or CV. 

As a School we acknowledge that people’s career paths are rarely linear and welcome applicants to expand on their professional and personal journeys where appropriate.

If invited for interview you will be required to evidence your right to work in the UK.  Further information is available on our right to work webpages. 

More information on how to submit your application can be found here. 

Informal enquiries may be made to the Dr Jo Wolff, jo.wolff@ed.ac.uk.  

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 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 Stonewall Scotland Diversity Champions, actively promoting LGBT equality. 

We particularly welcome applications from eligible candidates from under-represented groups, including racially minoritised individuals and all gender identities.

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.

The University may be able to sponsor the employment of international workers in this role. This will depend on a number of factors specific to the successful applicant. 

Key dates to note

The closing date for applications is 28th April 2026.

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

We aim to give successful candidates 2 weeks’ notice ahead of interviews. 

As a world-leading research-intensive University, we are here to address tomorrow’s greatest challenges. Between now and 2030 we will do that with a values-led approach to teaching, research and innovation, and through the strength of our relationships, both locally and globally.

The School comprises Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences (Linguistics and English Language). We offer a rich and diverse teaching and research environment for all our staff and students, with close links between our three main subject areas, alongside other world-class research areas within the University and beyond. 

The School is recognised as world-leading, as shown in its excellent output across all areas in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework. Psychology is rated 3rd, Philosophy is rated 4th and Linguistics and English Language is rated 3rd in the UK by Times Higher Education for the quality and breadth of the research. Read about the impact our research is making on the School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences website (Opens in new browser tab).