Career Development Fellow in Computer Science
Somerville College invite applications for a Career Development Fellow (CDF) in Computer Science. This is a fixed-term, non-renewable post from 1st October 2026 or as soon as possible thereafter, for a period of three years. It is open to early career researchers who have recently completed or are close to completing a doctorate (and will have submitted their thesis no later than three months before the start date of the post).
The post is intended to provide a carefully structured period of preparation for those embarking on an academic career, and to promote equality of opportunity by helping to create a more diverse pool of potential candidates for future academic posts at Oxford or elsewhere.
A permanent Professor in Computer Science is expected to join the College in the academic year 2028, who will share some of the teaching and administrative duties during the final year of this post. The College has a cohort of around 18 undergraduate students in Computer Science or Mathematics & Computer Science, alongside Masters and Doctoral students.
While a full-time employee of Somerville College, it is anticipated that the CDF will have an intellectual home and association with the Department of Computer Science at the University of Oxford. We encourage potential applicants to become familiar with the breadth of research in computer science undertaken at Oxford. One term of the final year of the appointment will be designated as paid research leave.
College duties
The CDF will be responsible for teaching Computer Science to undergraduates reading Computer Science or Mathematics & Computer Science. The CDF will delegate some of this teaching to Lecturers (currently two) who are also employed by the college. Somerville takes 4 to 6 students a year in these subjects. During the first two years of the undergraduate degrees, students attend lecture courses offered by the relevant departments and are further supported through (very) small group teaching in their college, known as tutorials. In tutorials, students typically meet in pairs together with a tutor to discuss their work on the course. A course typically comprises 16 lectures and 4 tutorials. Problem sheets for these tutorials are set by the departments, students submit their answers to the tutor, and the tutor discusses the students’ work and the course more broadly in the tutorials.
Somerville pools some teaching of upper-year Computer Science options with three other Oxford colleges, so the CDF will be teaching some second- and third-year options to intercollegiate groups of 3-6 students, depending on the specialist areas of the CDF.
The appointee will be required to undertake approximately six weighted hours of Computer Science teaching per week in tutorials, averaged over three eight-week terms (weighting implies a reduction of contact hours depending on group size).
A list of Computer Science papers is available at https://www.cs.ox.ac.uk/teaching/courses/
The CDF will join the vibrant computer science and mathematics community at Somerville College. This includes the Tutorial Fellows in Mathematics, Dan Ciubotaru and Renaud Lambiotte, and Tutorial Fellow in Statistics, Anastasia Ignatieva.
The appointee will be required:
- to undertake for Somerville College approximately six weighted hours of teaching per week, averaged over the three eight-week terms which constitute the academic teaching year;
- to engage in:
- tutorial preparation;
- marking of written work;
- setting, marking and returning of scripts for collections (internal college examinations);
- writing and submitting student reports;
- liaison with other staff on teaching and pastoral matters, as appropriate;
- to help with the organisation of computer science teaching at Somerville College, and to share the responsibility of acting as personal tutor to computer science undergraduates (that is, the person responsible for their academic and personal welfare);
- to take part in the annual admissions procedures for the selection of computer science undergraduates and graduates at Somerville College, which may include reading application material and interviewing in the two weeks following the first eight-week teaching term;
- to act as college adviser to some of the graduate members of Somerville College reading for higher degrees in computer science;
- to contribute where appropriate in the administrative work of the College, including participating in the College’s Open Days for prospective students.
Research
The CDF should engage in advanced study or research, leading to publication in international journals. The successful candidate is expected to propose, plan, and deliver a high-quality programme of original research; publicise the outcomes of that research through conference presentations and publications; and engage in the life and activities of the College. The aim is to offer the individual postholder broader development opportunities and integration with the academic life of the subject in the College and at Oxford. As indicated earlier, one term of the final year of the appointment will be designated as paid research leave.
Applications are welcomed from candidates who can demonstrate research excellence in any area of computer science.
For full details of the role, including selection criteria, benefits and the application process, please download the further particulars from the link below:
Career Development Fellow in Computer Science - Further Particulars
You must submit all elements of your application by 21 January 2026
