Job description

We are seeking a highly motivated Postdoctoral Biomedical Engineer to join our research team working to develop novel non-invasive tests for the diagnosis of respiratory muscle (diaphragm) weakness. The ideal candidate for this position will hold a PhD (or be near completion) in Biomedical Engineering, Electrical/Electronic Engineering or a closely related discipline, and will have strong MATLAB coding skills. Prior experience of working with human myoelectric (electromyography (EMG)) and/or mechanomyography (MMG) data is desirable.

The successful candidate will contribute to a proof-of-concept research project funded by Asthma + Lung UK. You will work under the supervision of Dr Ernest Kamavuako (Biomedical Engineering/Physiological Signal Processing), Dr Caroline Jolley (Clinical Respiratory Medicine & Respiratory Muscle Physiology), and Dr Gerrard Rafferty (Human & Translational Physiology) in close collaboration with Professor Raimon Jané and colleagues at the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) in Barcelona (Spain). The work will be conducted in the Centre for Human and Applied Physiological Sciences laboratories in the Department of Respiratory Medicine at the Denmark Hill campus of King’s College London. You will be responsible for prospective data collection in healthy human participants, dataset curation, processing and analytical methods development and will regularly communicate their findings to multidisciplinary audiences. The successful candidate will receive teaching in respiratory physiology monitoring and advanced respiratory muscle testing to a level sufficient to understand the aims of the project and collect physiological data independently.

This post will be offered on a fixed term contract to 21 November 2025.

This is a full-time post campus based at Denmark Hill Campus in the Respiratory Medicine & Allergy Building.

Key responsibilities

• Undertake research of high quality consistent with making an active research contribution in line with the aims of the project
• Design and develop experimental setups for acquiring non-invasive MMG and EMG signals from the diaphragm muscle
• Be responsible for specific study-related decisions within your expertise and, where appropriate, in consultation with the Study Investigators
• Recruitment of healthy volunteers for participation in the research project
• Myoelectric (EMG) and mechanomyography (MMG) data acquisition from healthy human participants
• Be responsible for MMG and EMG signal processing to extract relevant features related to diaphragm muscle strength
• Perform statistical analysis to evaluate the relationship between MMG/EMG-derived indices and clinically measured respiratory muscle strength in healthy participants
• Be familiar with the specialised equipment and/or techniques associated with the project
• Comply with the King’s College London Health and Safety regulations and policies, good laboratory practice, GDPR and Good Clinical Practice (GCP)
• Work in accordance with our partner NHS Trust policies (King’s College Hospital & Guy’s & St Thomas’)
• Be aware of and work within the guidelines for biomedical research set out in the Declaration of Helsinki (1989)
• Take responsibility for personal professional development
• Carry out the research project with appropriate supervision to an agreed timeline
• Attend and, as appropriate, present research findings at internal meetings and external conferences
• Contribute to the preparation of publications arising from the research project

 The above list of responsibilities may not be exhaustive, and the post holder will be required to undertake such tasks and responsibilities as may reasonably be expected within the scope and grading of the post.

Skills, knowledge, and experience

Essential criteria

1. PhD (or be near completion) in Biomedical Engineering, Electrical/Electronic Engineering or a related field*
2. Experience of handling and analysing biomedical data
3. Experience of MATLAB coding
4. Basic statistical knowledge
5. Good communication skills to multi-disciplinary audiences
6. Ability to work effectively with colleagues, and other agencies
7. Good organisational and time management skills
8. Enthusiasm and ability to work under pressure

* Please note that this is a PhD level role but candidates who have submitted their thesis and are awaiting award of their PhDs will be considered. In these circumstances the appointment will be made at Grade 5, spine point 30 with the title of Research Assistant. Upon confirmation of the award of the PhD, the job title will become Research Associate and the salary will increase to Grade 6.