About us
The UCL Hawkes Institute brings together a wide team of engineering and clinical experts working to develop new surgical technologies. These advances are going to create intuitive and highly personalised surgical platforms that enables more precise, less invasive procedures. Greater precision also means more patients will be viable for complicated but life-altering surgery and those treated will benefit from safer, more localised treatments and a shorter recovery time in hospital. The research in our centre is being developed with a wide range of clinical applications in mind, including vascular, paediatric, ophthalmic, neurological and robotic surgical interventions for cancer treatment. In particular, the research at the core of this position will advance engineering sciences in endoscopic imaging and sensing, interventional instrumentation and surgical navigation. The UCL Hawkes Institute has a wide footprint within UCL campuses. The successful applicant will be based at Charles Bell House, a space which houses state of the art facilities, allowing researchers from multiple UCL departments to combine expertise on this ambitious project.
About the role
Applications are invited for the post of Research Associate, to work under the supervision of Dr. Agostino Stilli, Associate Professor in Medical and Soft Robotics to conduct research in the field of medical robotics, with focus on the development and translation of novel medical soft robotic systems.
The post will be within the Surgical Robot Vision (SRV) Research Group, a large research team (more than 50 PhDs, Postdocs and Clinical Researchers) working on computer-assisted interventions within the UCL Hawkes Institute, the Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering at UCL, and the UCL Robotics Institute. The work of the SRV Research Group focuses on computer vision and artificial intelligence for robotic-assisted surgery, as well as on the development and translation of novel medical robotic systems.
The successful candidate will work independently as well as collaborating with the wider research team. They will also be expected to design and run experiments, record and analyse results and present the findings of their work in presentations, at international conferences and in leading journals. For more information about this role, please contact Dr. Agostino Stilli at a.stilli@ucl.ac.uk.
- This is a fixed-term role until 12/01/2028 in the first instance.
- Research Fellow - Appointment at Grade 7 (salary £44,480 per annum) is dependent upon having been awarded a PhD; if this is not the case, initial appointment will be at Grade 6B (salary £ 38,607 per annum) with payment at Grade 7 being backdated to the date of final submission of the PhD Thesis.
- This role meets the eligibility requirements for a skilled worker certificate of sponsorship or a global talent visa under UK Visas and Immigration legislation. Therefore, UCL welcomes applications from international applicants who require a visa.
- We will consider applications to work on a part-time, flexible and job share basis wherever possible.
- This role is eligible for hybrid working with a minimum of 80% on site.
- This appointment is subject to UCL Terms and Conditions of Service for Research and Professional Services Staff. Please visit https://www.ucl.ac.uk/human-resources/conditions-service-research-teaching-and-professional-services-staff for more information.
About you
The successful applicant will have a Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in Engineering, and have completed or be near the completion of a PhD in medical robotics, soft robotics, robotics, mechatronics or similar.
The applicant will have experience in hardware development for medical robotic, soft robotic or robotic systems, including design, prototyping and testing, ideally with hands-on experience in animal and clinical trials.
Good demonstrable practical skills in mechatronics/robotics engineering, a strong publishing record, communication skills and a willingness to contribute to public engagement events, as well as professionalism when dealing with external collaborators are also essential. The role will require the applicant to develop and implement novel designs for a robotic colonoscopy platform; familiarise with the state-of-the-art optical systems developed by the team; collaborate with clinicians to ensure device efficacy; and report on the work at international conferences, in publications, and to funders.
Your application should include a CV and a Cover Letter: In the Cover Letter please evidence how you meet the essential and desirable criteria in the Person Specification part of the Job Description. Please upload this in the cover letter attachment section of the application form. By including a Cover Letter, you can leave blank the 'Why you have applied for this role' field in the online application form, which is limited in the number of characters it will allow.)
What we offer
As well as the exciting opportunities this role presents, we also offer some great benefits some of which are below:
- 41 Days holiday (27 days annual leave 8 bank holiday and 6 closure days)
- Additional 5 days’ annual leave purchase scheme
- Defined benefit career average revalued earnings pension scheme (CARE)
- Cycle to work scheme and season ticket loan
- Immigration loan
- Relocation scheme for certain posts
- On-Site nursery
- On-site gym
- Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption pay
- Employee assistance programme: Staff Support Service
- Discounted medical insurance
Visit https://www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/rewards-and-benefits to find out more.
- The advert will close on 07/08/2025 at 23:59 GMT, however we may close applications early if we receive a high volume of applications. Early application submission is recommended.
- Interview dates are scheduled for the week commencing the 11/08/2025.
- A job description and person specification can be accessed at the bottom of this page.
- If you have any queries about the role, please contact stilli@ucl.ac.uk.
- If you need reasonable adjustments or a more accessible format to apply for this job online or have any queries about the application process, please contact Agostino Stilli at a.stilli@ucl.ac.uk.
Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
As London’s Global University, we know diversity fosters creativity and innovation, and we want our community to represent the diversity of the world’s talent. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong.
We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented in UCL’s workforce.
These include people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds; disabled people; LGBTQI+ people; and for our Grade 9 and 10 roles, women.
You can read more about our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion here : https://www.ucl.ac.uk/equality-diversity-inclusion/