King's College London

About us

Recently re-founded, the Department of Engineering is rapidly expanding into a world-class research and teaching department. 

The research in the department spans a wide range of engineering areas (e.g. telecoms, robotics, information processing systems, materials science, fluid dynamics...)

About the role

I am seeking applications from highly motivated and conscientious candidates for a postdoctoral position in the group of Prof Chris Lorenz on the materials modelling of biopolymers.  The primary objectives of this project will be to apply molecular dynamics simulations to investigate (1) spider silk in the different stages of extrusion and (2) how glycosylation affects the structural properties of mucin and mucin’s interactions with the aqueous environment.  These studies will be carried out in collaboration with various experimental groups within the UK, the USA and Europe.    

The successful candidate will perform all-atom and coarse-grain classical molecular dynamics simulations to investigate these various systems.  Enhanced sampling methods may be necessary for certain aspects of the studies.  Additionally, the application of unsupervised learning which has been successfully applied to various systems within the group will be explored for characterising the conformations which are sampled in these different studies.

The position is based in the Department of Engineering which is located within the Strand Campus of King’s College London.  Our campus is located within the heart of central London. 

This is a full-time post (35 hours per week) and you will be offered a three year fixed term contract. The targeted start date is the beginning of January 2025, but there is some flexibility with this date.

About you

To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience:

Essential criteria

1.      PhD awarded (or near completion) in Materials modeling, computational biology, computational physics, computational chemistry or related subject

2.      Experience in classical molecular dynamics simulations

3.      Excellent skills in programming in Python and data analysis

4.      Excellent communication (oral and written) skills, ability to write research reports and papers in style accessible to academic audiences Flexible and collaborative

5.      Track record of high-quality research publications in peer reviewed journals

6.      Flexible and collaborative

7.      Willingness to learn new skills

8.      Ability to work independently and as part of a team

Desirable criteria

1.      Experience of using classical molecular dynamics simulations to study polymers and/or biopolymers

2.      Ability and interest in mentoring MSc and PhD students within the group

3.      Experience in applying machine learning approaches to compliment molecular dynamics simulations studies

Downloading a copy of our Job Description

Full details of the role and the skills, knowledge and experience required can be found in the Job Description document, provided at the bottom of the next page after you click “Apply Now”. This document will provide information of what criteria will be assessed at each stage of the recruitment process.

* Please note that this is a PhD level role but candidates who have submitted their thesis and are awaiting award of their PhDs will be considered. In these circumstances the appointment will be made at Grade 5, spine point 30 with the title of Research Assistant. Upon confirmation of the award of the PhD, the job title will become Research Associate and the salary will increase to Grade 6.

Further Information

We pride ourselves on being inclusive and welcoming. We embrace diversity and want everyone to feel that they belong and are connected to others in our community.

We are committed to working with our staff and unions on these and other issues, to continue to support our people and to develop a diverse and inclusive culture at King's.

We ask all candidates to submit a copy of their CV, and a supporting statement, detailing how they meet the essential criteria listed in the advert. If we receive a strong field of candidates, we may use the desirable criteria to choose our final shortlist, so please include your evidence against these where possible.

To find out how our managers will review your application, please take a look at our ‘ How we Recruit’ pages.

Interviews are due to be held in November.

We are able to offer sponsorship for candidates who do not currently possess the right to work in the UK.