Research Assistant or Research Fellow in Automated Car Software

Organisation/Company CRANFIELD UNIVERSITY Research Field Engineering Engineering Researcher Profile Recognised Researcher (R2) First Stage Researcher (R1) Final date to receive applications 16 Sep 2026 - 00:00 (UTC) Country United Kingdom Type of Contract Other Job Status Full-time Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

Organisation:Cranfield University
Faculty or
Department:Faculty of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Based at:Cranfield Campus, Cranfield, Bedfordshire
Hours of work:37 hours per week, normally worked Monday to Friday. Flexible working will be considered.
Contract type:Fixed term contract
Fixed Term Period:For 18 months
Research Assistant (if PhD close to completion): Full time starting salary is normally in the range of £29,950 to £35,019 per annum, with potential progression up to £40,984 per annum;
Research Fellow (if PhD obtained): Full time starting salary is normally in the range of £38,655 to £46,492 per annum, with potential progression up to £53,108 per annum
Apply by:16/09/2026

We welcome applications from skilled researchers with a passion for the development of robust and efficient software to contribute to our experimental work in automated cars.

The successful candidate will contribute to the delivery of high-quality research in automated vehicle navigation and perception systems. As a key aspect of this role, you will have the unique opportunity to gain hands‑on experience in developing and maintaining software solutions for our existing automated driving platformCONRRAD , developed as part of the previous UKRI project

Driven by Sound .

You will contribute to the development of tools for debugging, testing and validation of automated driving functions, as well as visualisation of multi‑sensor data. You will also support the optimisation of full‑stack automated driving pipelines and contribute to the design and evaluation of novel perception algorithms for automated driving. You could also develop your own research portfolio by supervising MSc individual research projects aligned with the Centre’s research themes.

You will be expected to contribute to project delivery, research dissemination through publications and technical reports, and support collaborative activities with academic and industrial partners.

You will have a PhD (or close to completion) in a relevant subject, such as computer science, embedded systems, robotics, mechatronic engineering, or closely allied topics, or be able to demonstrate a comparable level of knowledge and experience, typically achieved through no fewer than three years’ postgraduate experience in a directly relevant research and development environment.

You will have knowledge of software testing, debugging, optimisation and deployment practices, with experience in communication middleware and protocols used in robotics or autonomous systems. You will have excellent problem‑solving and self‑management skills, with the ability to work effectively within multidisciplinary research teams. The ideal candidate will have been first author or joint first author on at least one publication in a reputable academic journal (pending publications can also be considered).

As a specialist postgraduate university, Cranfield’s world‑class expertise, large‑scale facilities and unrivalled industry partnerships are creating leaders in technology and management globally. Learn more about Cranfield and our unique impact here .

The Advanced Vehicle Engineering Centre focuses primarily on the development, application and evaluation of advanced vehicle technologies to help make vehicles more capable, lighter, greener and more efficient. Working across multiple sectors including automotive, aerospace, agriculture, defence and motor sport, we leverage our specialisms in electric & hybrid vehicle batteries, autonomous vehicles, vehicle dynamics, brake system performance, hybrid material development for vehicle light‑weighting, motor sport vehicle simulation and testing, mechatronic…