postdoctoral researcher

Are you a Postdoctoral Researcher with excellent creative engagement skills, and a strong research background? Birkbeck, University of London, is seeking a Postdoctoral Researcher to join the School of Psychological Sciences on a two year contract this Autumn.

We are seeking to recruit a Postdoctoral Researcher to join a project aimed at achieving an individual-level understanding of the brain circuits that support psychiatric conditions.

This is a full-time (35 hours a week), fixed-term contract for over two years, with a salary from £44,247 per year.

As Postdoctoral Researcher you will have significant scope for scientific input into the design and direction of research questions - these will fall within the broader remit of using advanced techniques such as normative modelling and precision functional mapping with dense fMRI sampling to study the developmental trajectories of brain circuits implicated in compulsivity, and to identify the network topologies supporting flexible cognition at the individual level in patients with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD).

You will work independently, and in collaboration, with other members of the Vaghi Lab, joining a growing team of PhD students, research assistants, and postdoctoral fellows.

You will also join a thriving research community in Psychology at Birkbeck, and you will be encouraged to build your own research networks within the department and at other institutions nearby. You will participate in regular lab meetings, learn about diverse methodologies for the study of neural and cognitive mechanisms in psychiatric populations, and have the opportunity to attend national and international conferences annually.

More generally, you will participate fully in lab life, attend regular meetings and collaborate with other lab members.

To succeed as Postdoctoral Researcher, and a senior role in the lab, you will be mature, responsible and show readiness for academic leadership.

You will have finished, or are about to finish, your PhD in a relevant discipline, such as cognitive neuroscience, psychology or related subject. You will be self-motivated, comfortable with both analytic and critical thinking, and have a strong cognitive neuroscience and imaging background, with an interest in connecting brain data to cognitive theories of compulsivity.

You should also have a rich experience with neuroimaging methods and data collection (fMRI), task design, and good programming skills.

On completion of this post, it is envisioned that you will have gained the organisational, technical and leadership skills necessary for making the transition to Principal Investigator of your own laboratory - that means that during your time in the lab, you will be expected to assist in the supervision of junior team members and will be encouraged to apply for independent research funding, and will become increasingly autonomous over the course of your tenure in the lab.

A full list of criteria is available in the job description pack. Applicants' track records in research (e.g., of published papers, preprints, presentations) will also be evaluated relative to their career stage.

Salary and benefits

From £44,247 to £50,379 per annum, Grade 7 on the College's London Pay Scale which includes a consolidated London Weighting Allowance.

Benefits of working at Birkbeck: a competitive salary and pension scheme, 31 days paid leave, flexible working arrangements, generous benefits in the HE sector, and being located in the heart of Bloomsbury, Euston, London.

Contract:

Fixed-term, over 2 year contract (subject to extension), full-time (35 hours a week) hybrid or remote offered.

Please submit CV and statement for consideration. Closing date: 10 December 2025, interview date: 16 January 2026. Visa sponsorship offered.

Enquiries:

If you would like to know more about the role, please contact Dr Matilde Vaghi Reader in Psychology at

If you have difficulty using the recruitment portal, please contact providing your name and the job reference number of the position. While we are happy to respond to all informal enquiries, only formal applications through the online system will be considered.

We welcome applicants from all sections of the community. The College is committed to improving the gender and cultural diversity of its workforce, holding an Athena SWAN award and operating Disability Confident & Mindful Employer schemes.