Research Associate/Assistant in Statistics

Salary:

Research Assistant: £33,002 to £34,610 per annum

Research Associate: £35,608 to £41,064 per annum

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 26 October 2025

The Role

This is an exciting opportunity for a highly motivated and skilled Research Associate/Assistant in statistics to join the EPSRC funded project PINCODE: Pooling INference and COmbining Distributions Exactly: A Bayesian Approach.

The project aims to address the challenges in pooling inference, by developing and implementing either exact or asymptotically exact Monte Carlo algorithms in collaboration with the Department of Statistics at University of Warwick, Department of Mathematical Sciences at Durham University, and School of Mathematics, Statistics & Physics at Newcastle University.

You will contribute to the development of:

• An R package for path-space rejection sampling for diffusion processes
• An R package for Bayesian Fusion pooling inference, such as privacy Bayesian Fusion and constraint Bayesian Fusion

The position is available from 01 March 2026, and is full-time (37 hours per week) on a fixed-term basis until the project end date of 30 June 2028.

For informal enquiries about this vacancy, please contact Dr Murray Pollock (murray.pollock@ncl.ac.uk).

For further details about School of Mathematics, Statistics and Physics, please click here

Full Information about Newcastle University can be found here.

We are committed to building and maintaining a fair and inclusive working environment.

To apply, please complete an online application and upload a CV and a cover letter. Your cover letter is a supporting statement, and you should outline how you meet the essential criteria of the role and evidence this with examples.

Key Accountabilities

• Contribute to the research programme in the field of Bayesian computational statistics as part of the EPSRC funded ‘PINCODE’ project (EP/X028712/1), under the clear guidance of Prof. Murray Pollock and Prof Hongsheng Dai
• Work closely with other members of PINCODE, including Prof. L. Aslett (Durham) and Prof G. O. Roberts (Warwick)
• Participate within the statistical community at Newcastle, including active involvement in seminars and research groups
• Publish research findings in leading journals
• Disseminate results widely, including at appropriate national/international conferences, and by making results and software available to applied practitioners

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Evidence of conducting independent, high-quality research
• High level problem solving and analytical skills
• Strong programming skills (R or C)

Desirable

• Experience of using HPC clusters 
• Experience of modern computational statistical methodologies, such as Markov chain Monte Carlo, rejection sampling, sequential Monte Carlo, would be highly desirable

Attributes And Behaviour

• Ability to work in collaboration with a multi-disciplinary team
• Strong communication skills, both written and verbal

Qualifications

• PhD Awarded (for the position as Research Associate) in Mathematics or Statistics or Computer Science
• or close to completion, having submitted the thesis at the point of starting the position (Research Assistant)

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.  As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society.  We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent.  We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a gold Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality.  We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC.  We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe. 

Requisition ID: 28693