Research Associate

Job Advert

Research Associate

School of Psychology

Cardiff Babylab is looking for two full-time Research Associates to join our team, which will be funded by UKRI. Our research examines infants’ and toddlers’ everyday experiences, with a particular focus on how attentional and motor development shapes the ways in which young children engage with, adapt to, shape, and learn from their everyday environments. We combine naturalistic and controlled approaches, using methods such as head-mounted cameras, screen-based and head-mounted eye-tracking, standardised behavioural assessments, observational measures, and computational analyses.

Our team brings together expertise from developmental psychology, computer science, and applied research. We study both typically developing infants and toddlers and young children with developmental conditions, with a particular programme of research focused on Down syndrome.

The postholders will contribute to a range of ongoing projects investigating early development across naturalistic and controlled settings. The precise balance of activities can be tailored to the successful candidates’ backgrounds and interests. There will also be opportunities to work with existing datasets and to take an active role in developing analyses, publications, and conference presentations.

Typical responsibilities may include:

• Working with naturalistic audio and video data alongside other developmental measures
• Developing and implementing data processing and analysis workflows, including machine learning tools
• Using computational modelling to create mechanistic accounts of early development
• Supervising and training research assistants and students involved in data collection and annotation
• Supporting data collection
• Contributing to data management, documentation, and research governance
• Participating in lab meetings and wider scientific activities
• Leading or contributing to publications, conference presentations, and other research outputs

We are particularly interested in candidates whose expertise complements our work in developmental science, naturalistic measurement, behavioural methods, computational approaches, and multimodal data analysis. These roles offer substantial scope for candidates to develop their own research profile while contributing to the broader scientific programme of the Cardiff Babylab.

These positions offer an opportunity to join an active and collaborative developmental science environment and to gain experience working across complementary methodological approaches and research populations.

Research Environment

The successful candidate will be based at the Cardiff Babylab within the Cardiff University Centre for Human Developmental Science (CUCHDS). CUCHDS provides access to advanced facilities for developmental research, including state-of-the-art eye‑tracking, functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), and magnetoencephalography using optically pumped magnetometers (OPM‑MEG).

Candidates may also have opportunities to engage with the Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), one of the largest and most technologically advanced imaging centres in Europe. Both CUCHDS and CUBRIC are part of Cardiff University’s School of Psychology, which has a strong international reputation for research in psychology, psychiatry, and neuroscience and was ranked 6th in the UK for research power in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework.

The successful candidate will join a supportive, collaborative, and intellectually vibrant community that values curiosity, innovation, and rigorous scientific practice. We strongly encourage applications from researchers from underrepresented backgrounds and are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive environment.

If you are motivated by big theoretical questions, excited by rich multimodal data, and eager to help shape a new, process-based science of development, we would love to hear from you.

For informal enquiries, contact Dr Hana D’Souza ( ).

These positions are full-time, 35 hours per week and fixed term for 12 months or until 14 May 2028, whichever is soonest.

Salary: £41,064 - £46,049 per annum (Grade 6). Appointments to roles at Cardiff University are usually made at bottom of scale unless in exceptional circumstances. Please note that it is not expected that we will appoint above Grade 6.32, currently £41,064 per annum.

Cardiff University offers many excellent benefits, including 45 days annual leave (incl. bank holidays), local pension scheme, a cycle to work scheme and other travel initiatives, annual increments within the pay scale, and more. It's an exciting and vibrant place to work with many different challenges and is a proud Living Wage supporter.

Date advert posted: Friday, 9 October 2026

Closing date: Sunday, 25 October 2026

Cardiff University is committed to supporting and promoting equality and diversity and to creating an inclusive working environment. We believe this can be achieved through attracting, developing, and retaining a diverse range of staff from many different backgrounds. We therefore welcome applicants from all sections of the community regardless of sex, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, trans identity, relationship status, religion or belief, caring responsibilities, or age. We especially welcome and encourage applications from those from under-represented groups within the University workforce, such as those who identify as LGBT +, Ethnic Minority or those with disabilities. In supporting our employees to achieve a balance between their work and their personal lives, we will also consider proposals for flexible working or job share arrangements.

Cardiff University is a signatory to the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), which means that in hiring and promotion decisions we will evaluate applicants on the quality of their research, not publication metrics or the identity of the journal in which the research is published. More information is available at: Responsible research assessment - Research - Cardiff University

Applications may be submitted in Welsh, and an application submitted in Welsh will not be treated less favourably than an application submitted in English.

Hysbyseb Swydd

Cydymaith Ymchwil

Yr Ysgol Seicoleg

Mae Babilab Caerdydd yn chwilio am ddau Gydymaith Ymchwil amser llawn i ymuno â'n tîm, a fydd yn cael eu hariannu gan UKRI.

Mae ein hymchwil yn archwilio profiadau bob dydd babanod a phlant bach, gyda ffocws penodol ar sut mae datblygiad rheoli sylw ac echddygol yn llywio’r ffyrdd y mae plant ifanc yn ymgysylltu â'u amgylcheddau bob dydd, yn addasu, siapio ac yn dysgu ohonynt. Rydym yn cyfuno dulliau naturiolaidd a rheoledig, gan ddefnyddio dulliau fel camerâu wedi'u gosod ar y pen, olrhain llygaid ar y sgrin a'r pen

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