Research Fellow - Shape-Transforming Active Microfluidics x2

Warwick University, Coventry April 6, 2026 Full Time Lumesse Talentlink (Cornerstone Ondemand)
Start Date

This advert includes x2 Research Fellow fixed-term positions, for up to 18 months dependant on start date. The end date is fixed as 30th November 2027.

The newly-founded Soft Matter Mathematics Group at the University of Warwick are looking for up to 4 creative and enthusiastic postdoctoral researchers to join Prof. Tom Montenegro-Johnson in working on a range of problems as part of the Leverhulme-funded Award “Shape-Transforming Active Microfluidics”.

The work is a primarily theoretical/computational exploration of microscale dynamics of systems that are both “active” (such as Janus particles), and soft/flexible, with some shape-change components (for instance, temperature-responsive hydrogels). We are interested in using this coupled dynamics to provide additional functionality to microscale systems, such as microfluidic actuators and swarms of biomedical microbots.

You will be working as part of an inclusive and flexible team, based in the Warwick Maths Institute, a world-leading mathematics department. You will have, if desired, opportunities to travel in the UK and abroad, on research visits to collaborating groups and to conferences, as well as the opportunity to engage with industry via the department’s new CAMaCS centre. You will be given both time and mentoring support to develop your own research profile and broader skills.

You will work closely with experimental collaborators, have the opportunity to engage with industrial partners, and have the opportunity to undertake experimental work yourself. Public Engagement, and working with artists, is an important part of our practice as a group.

About You

You should have (or be due to submit soon) a PhD, or have equivalent experience, in applied mathematics, physics, an engineering science (including chemical engineering), or computational science.

You will be part of a team with a broad range of expertise, and you are particularly encouraged to apply if you have experience in any of (but not limited to):

Continuum Mechanics (fluid and solid)
Soft Matter Physics
AI for applied mathematics
Asymptotic Analysis
Biological/Active Matter
You will have excellent communication and presentation skills, and be comfortable talking about your work with academics from other disciplines and non-specialists. You will have a record of research papers published in journals (or accepted to be published). You will have a high capacity for original research and creative thought, as well as the ability to manage your time effectively across multiple strands of research.

For details on the experience and skills required, please refer to the job description attached as a PDF below.

PhD Status

If you are near submission of your PhD, or have not yet had it conferred, any offers of employment will be made at Research Assistant level, at the highest spinal point of pay grade 5 (£34,610 per annum).

Upon receipt of evidence confirming the successful award of your PhD, you will be promoted to Research Fellow, at the lowest spinal point of grade 6 (£35,608 per annum).
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How to Get Hired at Warwick University

  • The University of Warwick recruits exclusively through its Lumesse TalentLink portal at warwick-careers.tal.net (brand-4, user 11595); CV-only or LinkedIn-only applications are not considered for substantive vacancies.
  • Every role is shortlisted strictly against the Person Specification published in the Further Particulars document, so your CV and Supporting Statement must map evidence point-by-point against each Essential and Desirable criterion in the same order they appear.
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