Assistant Professor in Computer Science (COM_02)

Working at Durham University

A globally outstanding centre of teaching and research excellence, a warm and friendly place to work, a unique and historic setting - Durham is a university like no other.

As one of the UK's leading universities, Durham is an incredible place to define your career. The University is located within a beautiful historic city, home to a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and surrounded by stunning countryside. Our talented scholars and researchers from around the world are tackling global issues and making a difference to people's lives.  

We believe that inspiring our people to do outstanding things at Durham enables Durham people to do outstanding things in the world. Being a part of Durham is about more than just the success of the University, it's also about contributing to the success of the city, county and community.

Our University Strategy is built on three pillars of research, education and wider student experience, but also on our keen sense of community and of inspiring others to achieve their potential. 

Our Purpose and Values

We want our University to be a place where people can be free to be themselves, no matter what their identity or background. Together, we celebrate difference, value one another and are each responsible for creating an inclusive community that is respectful and fair for all.

Find out more about the benefits of working at the University and what it is like to live and work in the Durham area on our Why Join Us? - Information Page

Discover more about our total rewards and benefits package here.

The Department

The Department is one of the UK's leading Computer Science departments, with an outstanding reputation in research, teaching, and student employability. Our internationally recognised research covers Theoretical Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Human Systems, Digital Health, Networks, Quantum Computing, Scientific Computing including hardware and scientific code development, Computer Vision, Imaging and Robotics. There is a lively research culture with many visitors and events, and active and rewarding collaborations with other departments in Durham and with other scientists in the UK and internationally. In the assessment exercise REF2021 we improved by six places in the ranking. We aim to provide an encouraging and friendly environment with a strong sense of community. The Department has recently grown rapidly, and now has more than 55 permanent members of academic staff. In 2021, we moved to a newly constructed building, which we share with Mathematics. 

The Department has a proud tradition of delivering excellence in its undergraduate programmes through research-led teaching. Attracting some of the best students in the UK, the Department is ranked in the top 10 of several UK league tables. As part of the expansion of the Department, new MSc programmes in Advanced Computer Science, Business Analytics, Scientific Computing and Data Analysis, and in Data Science launched within the past five years.  The Department holds an Athena SWAN Silver award. Athena SWAN is a national initiative that recognises the advancement of gender equality, representation, progression and success for all in academia.

This post offers an exciting opportunity to develop internationally excellent research/scholarship and teaching while providing unrivalled, tailored support for your career progression at an exciting and progressive institution. For more information, please visit our department pages

The Department of Computer Science at Durham University seeks to appoint a talented individual to the role of Assistant Professor. We welcome applications from those with research and teaching interests in the research areas of Computer Science related to the department's current and emerging strengths.

This post offers an exciting opportunity to make further major contributions to the development of internationally excellent research and teaching while allowing you unrivalled opportunities to progress and embed your career in an exciting and progressive institution. For more information, please visit our department pages at https://www.durham.ac.uk/departments/academic/computer-science/

Assistant Professors at Durham

Assistant Professors on the Education and Research track are encouraged to focus on research and teaching but are also expected to engage in wider citizenship to enhance their own development, support their department and discipline, and contribute to the wider student experience.

Academic colleagues are supported to publish excellent research in their area of interest with a focus on high quality outputs, rather than quantity. We aim to support your research needs and have a generous research leave policy and a designated mentor. Durham University is also committed to ensuring outstanding teaching quality, stimulating learning environments, and innovative curricula for all our students. You will be supported to develop your teaching expertise and skills.

We are confident that our recruitment process allows us to attract and select the best talent to Durham. We, therefore, offer a reduced probation period of 1 year for our Assistant Professors and thereafter, subject to satisfactory performance, your position will be confirmed as permanent. Applicants must demonstrate high quality research in the field of Computer Science, with the ability to teach our students to an exceptional standard and to fully engage in the services, citizenship and values of the University. We strive to provide a working and teaching environment that is inclusive and welcoming and where everyone is treated fairly with dignity and respect. Candidates will be expected to demonstrate these key principles as part of the assessment process.

Key responsibilities:

• To pursue research that is high quality in terms of originality, significance and rigour.
• To develop clear plans for the pursuit of national and international funding opportunities to support research and end-user engagement.
• To play a role in relevant teaching and research supervision, and contribute to ongoing curriculum development.
• Contribute to enhancing the quality of the research environment in the Department, the wider University and beyond through collaborative research activity.
• Demonstrate a willingness to contribute to the administrative work, citizenship and values of the Department.
• To deliver lectures and tutorials at undergraduate and taught postgraduate levels, as well as engaging in related activity such as assessment.
• To fully engage in and enhance the values of the Department.
• To contribute to attracting and supervising research students, and to enhance the Department's commitment to its vibrant and inclusive postgraduate culture.
• Carry out other duties as specified by the Head of Department.

Durham University is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion

Equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) are a key component of the University's Strategy and a central part of everything we do. We also live by our Purpose and Values and our Staff Code of Conduct. At Durham we actively work towards providing an environment where our staff and students can study, work and live in a community which is supportive and inclusive. It's important to us that all colleagues undertake activities that are aligned to both our values and commitment to EDI.

We welcome and encourage applications from those who are currently under-represented in our work force, including people with disabilities and from racially minoritised ethnic groups.

If you have taken a career break or periods of leave that may have impacted on the volume and recency of your research outputs and other activities, such as maternity, adoption or parental leave, you may wish to disclose this in your application. The selection committee will take this into account when evaluating your application.

The University has been awarded the Disability Confident Leader status. If you are a candidate with a disability, we are committed to ensuring fair treatment throughout the recruitment process. We will make adjustments to support the interview process wherever it is reasonable to do so and, where successful, reasonable adjustments will be made to support people within their role.