King’s College London is an internationally recognised research-intensive university. The Department of Physics, within the Faculty of Natural, Mathematical & Engineering Sciences, hosts internationally leading research across photonics and nanotechnology, condensed matter, biological physics and fundamental physics. 

 

This post will join the Photonics & Nanotechnology Group and the ERC-funded ATLANTIS team led by Dr Francisco J. Rodríguez-Fortuño. ATLANTIS investigates new physics and applications of optical and acoustic near-fields by challenging conventional assumptions about wave structure, polarisation, coherence and material backgrounds.

We are seeking a highly motivated theoretical and computational researcher to join the ERC Consolidator Grant ATLANTIS (Advanced Techniques in Light and Acoustic Near-fields: Time and Spatial structuring). The post holder will lead research on the optical and acoustic implications of structured near-field phenomena, with particular emphasis on translating concepts between electromagnetism and acoustics and on the topology and dynamics of complex wave fields.

 

The research will examine polarisation and symmetry singularities, chirality and helicity, energy and momentum flows, spin and orbital angular momentum, and optical or acoustic forces and torques. Key project directions include unpolarised or incoherent near-fields and waves in unconventional materials such as anisotropic, hyperbolic, epsilon-near-zero, dispersive, lossy or active media. The successful candidate will develop analytical models and numerical tools, generate original research questions through an exploration-grid methodology, and identify robust effects with clear experimental observables.

 

The role offers substantial intellectual independence within a collaborative team. You will work closely with the Principal Investigator, PhD researchers and international experimental collaborators, contribute to proof-of-concept studies, publish in leading journals, present at international meetings, and support open research through well-documented code and data. The position is particularly suited to a researcher with strong mathematical intuition, experience of structured or non-paraxial waves, and an interest in connecting optical and acoustic field theories.

 

This is a full-time post (35 hours per week), offered on a fixed-term contract for 36 months, expected to run from 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2029.

 

Research staff at King’s are entitled to at least 10 days per year (pro-rata) for professional development. This entitlement, from the  Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers, applies to Postdocs, Research Assistants, Research and Teaching Technicians, Teaching Fellows and AEP equivalent up to and including grade 7. Visit the  Centre for Research Staff Development for more information.