EPSRC Engineering Early Career Forum: member vacancies

Closing date: 20 July 2026, 11:59pm UK time
Number of positions: 10 to 15
Length of term: Two years plus possible extension
Time commitment: Three days per year with occasional contact in between for specific topics or issues
Outcome communicated: Early autumn 2026

The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is seeking applications from early career researchers to join the Engineering Early Career Forum for a two-year term.

We are looking to recruit about 10 new members.

You should submit an expression of interest with a brief institutional statement of support.

Who we’re looking for

This opportunity is open to early career researchers across the engineering remit.

You can apply if you are:

a full-time or part-time member of academic staff
a fellowship holder
an early career professional working in industry
on sabbatical leave
on a career break

We welcome applications from researchers working within EPSRC’s engineering portfolios and related engineering disciplines. We also welcome applications from researchers who can provide a broader perspective across the engineering theme.

If you are not sure whether you are eligible, contact the EPSRC engineering theme.

For more information, see:

Submissions to this opportunity will not affect your status under the repeatedly unsuccessful applicants policy.

Early career researchers

To recognise the range of career paths in engineering, there is no specific definition of ‘early career’.

However, you should demonstrate why you describe yourself as early career. This forms part of the assessment criteria.

Some indicators that you might be considered early career include:

you are in the process of establishing your research independence and your research team, or these are newly established
you aspire to be a leader within your research community or some experience of community leadership, or both, but may not have a significant track record of community leadership at a national level
you have a good awareness of the international and strategic context of your research and are starting to show evidence of recognition in the community

These are not exhaustive or definitive but may help you decide if this is the right opportunity for you, and to explain why you would consider yourself to be early career.

The panel may also refer to these indicators but will be encouraged to take a broad view when assessing whether you are at a suitable point in your career.

Established leaders of research groups are not suitable for this opportunity.

Equality, diversity and inclusion

We welcome and encourage applications from candidates from a diverse range of backgrounds, including those with different protected characteristics (for example, sex, ethnicity, disability) and socioeconomic backgrounds.

Find out about EPSRC’s approach to equality, diversity and inclusion.

What you’ll be doing

EPSRC is looking to appoint around 10 to 15 new members of the forum.

You should:

have a strong focus on advancing the UK’s reputation in engineering research
be open to developing interdisciplinary research agendas
help with communication between EPSRC and the early career engineering research community

You will:

have the opportunity to interact with other early career researchers from across the breadth of engineering and the physical sciences
form new professional networks that may generate future innovative research programmes and influence research strategy
have the opportunity to connect to EPSRC strategic activities, interact with EPSRC’s advisory streams, and receive insight into, and practical advice relating to, UK funding body policy and practice

Members appointed via this process will form the new cohort of the forum.

Their membership period is expected to run from autumn 2026 to autumn 2028 (with the possibility of extension for a further two years).

Scope

Engineering theme

The engineering theme at EPSRC aims to identify and enable the research community to tackle fundamental engineering research challenges with the potential for lasting academic, social, and economic benefit to the UK.

These challenges are often inherently interdisciplinary, cutting across EPSRC’s portfolio and across UKRI more widely.

It is recognised that the future international reputation of engineering research in the UK rests upon the early career researchers of today. These researchers will go on to generate new and sustainable engineering processes, technologies, and systems at the interfaces of traditional mathematical, scientific and engineering disciplines.

The engineering theme interacts widely with academia and industry via advisory bodies of strategic large investments, membership of cross-industry, academia and governmental committees, and discussions with professional societies and networks.

Engaging with early career stakeholders from academia and industry is a crucial part of achieving EPSRC’s ambitions, helping to set the direction for engineering research in the near future.

The forum

The Engineering Early Career Forum (ECF) aims to identify and support some of the most promising early career researchers who may have the characteristics required to become international leaders of the future.

The Engineering ECF acts as a sounding board for the theme to inform new ideas, provide informal advice on key issues and offer a direct link to the research community.

It also alerts EPSRC to emerging issues and opportunities affecting the early career community.

The ECF is a long-term initiative with an evolving membership base.

The activities of the forum are influenced by the wishes and ideas of the membership, who are expected to participate in organising and convening meetings and events.

Forum members

Members will have access to a range of tailored events and opportunities, which have previously included:

networking and idea-sharing with all other ECF members
discussions, networking and mentoring opportunities with senior academics and industrialists from the engineering theme and beyond
insight and mentoring into EPSRC processes and procedures, including various EPSRC grant awards and the associated peer review processes
developing working relationships with EPSRC
joint sessions with the EPSRC Engineering Strategic Advisory Team, and other advisory structures

ECF members also advocate on behalf of EPSRC on any policies or specific issues that may arise.

This ensures they are visible leaders able to articulate strategy and activities to the community and stakeholders where appropriate.

ECF members are selected from academia, industry and other stakeholders and are separate from the peer review process.

Forum meetings

Meetings are run by a chair, who serves as the early career representative on the Engineering Strategic Advisory Team.

The ECF typically meets three times per year.

These are in-person meetings, as this format best supports engagement, helps build a cohesive forum, and facilitates meaningful two-way discussion.

Each meeting runs over one or two days.

EPSRC expects ECF members to be willing to actively participate in and contribute to the forum’s meetings on a regular basis.

Balance of membership

EPSRC explicitly seeks to ensure that at each refresh the forum is constituted with an appropriate balance of membership across scientific research areas while securing appropriate distribution across institutions and regions of the UK.

Through the selection process we will try to accommodate, where possible, a diverse and representative membership for the ECF.

Opportunity available

This is not a direct funding opportunity, but rather an expression of interest for membership of the Engineering Early Career Research Forum.

EPSRC will pay some of the forum meeting costs (for example, lunch, refreshments).

However, you will be expected to find your own travel and accommodation costs to attend the meetings.

So you can get the full benefit of the opportunity, you should ensure your host organisation can provide:

a genuine commitment towards your participation in the forum
support costs for your attendance at in-person meetings

How to apply

This is a single stage assessment process, based around an expression of interest.

You should submit your applications using the EPSRC Engineering ECF recruitment expression of interest form by 20 July 2026.

You should complete all sections of the expression of interest form.

We will not consider applications that fail to follow these guidelines.

How we’ll assess your application

You must address the criteria outlined in the assessment criteria section.

Each section may contain up to 1,500 characters.

Preparing a statement of support

Your application must be accompanied by a statement of support on headed paper, written, signed and dated by your head of department (or equivalent).

This statement of support must explain clearly how the department will support your membership of the forum.

It must confirm that your host institution:

is supportive of your time commitment to the forum
will provide travel and subsistence costs required for attending meetings
is prepared to support you to host a forum meeting during your term of membership

This letter will not be used as part of the assessment of the applications.

However, we will reject applications without a statement of support, or where the statement of support does not meet the criteria listed.

Assessment process

Expressions of interest will be assessed against the specification criteria by an EPSRC panel based on the information provided, addressing how well you have articulated your fit to the assessment criteria.

There will be no postal peer review of applications for this forum.

We actively encourage applications from researchers based in all regions and nations of the UK (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales), representing a diverse range of institutions and career pathways.

EPSRC reserves the right to reject applications that:

it deems to be outside the scope of the opportunity (including those outside the remit of the Engineering theme, or from ineligible applicants)
are wholly beyond the remit of EPSRC
do not follow the application guidelines

We would not expect Engineering Early Career Forum members to be members of any other early career forum in EPSRC (mathematical sciences, manufacturing or quantum technologies).

The outcomes of the selection process will be announced in early autumn 2026.

Successful applicants will receive a formal invitation to the Engineering Early Career Forum.

In the event of this opportunity being substantially oversubscribed as to be unmanageable, EPSRC reserve the right to modify the assessment process.

Assessment criteria

Applications will be assessed on providing demonstrable evidence to address the following selection criteria:

fit to the early career specification: evidence that you can reasonably identify with description of a ‘early career’
benefit of membership: having a clear rationale for wishing to join the Engineering Early Career Forum, explanation of how membership will benefit them and their early career researcher community
fit to remit of the engineering theme: explanation how is your research relevant to the scope of the EPSRC engineering theme
networking and communications: evidence of communication and team-working skills, and your willingness to facilitate communication between EPSRC and the early career engineering research community

Due to the high volume of applications expected for this opportunity, EPSRC will not provide feedback to unsuccessful applicants.

Last updated: 5 June 2026