Most science jobs in Manchester for PhD graduates fall into four groups: postdoctoral and fellowship posts at the University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University, cancer and clinical research roles around The Christie and Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, applied materials work at the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre and the Henry Royce Institute, and industry posts on the science parks run by Bruntwood SciTech. In October 2026 University of Manchester research associate adverts started at £37,694 to £38,448 a year, and a postdoctoral scientist post at the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute was advertised at £39,253 to £47,543. The practical route in is to set alerts on the employers' own job sites and on jobs.ac.uk, then approach specific research groups whose work matches your thesis.
Science jobs for PhD holders in Manchester at a glance
| Employer type | Examples | Typical PhD-level roles |
|---|---|---|
| Universities | University of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University | Research associate, research fellow, lecturer |
| Cancer research | Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute, The Christie | Postdoctoral scientist, group leader, clinical scientist |
| NHS and clinical research | Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, NIHR Manchester BRC and CRF | Research scientist, trial and healthcare science roles |
| Materials | Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre, Henry Royce Institute | Applied research scientist, technology platform specialist |
| Industry and science parks | Manchester Science Park, Alderley Park, Medicines Discovery Catapult | R&D scientist, assay and drug discovery roles, data science |
All of the organisations below had live recruitment or programme pages when we checked in October 2026. Vacancies change weekly, so treat named adverts as examples of what is posted rather than jobs you can still apply for.
University research posts and where they are advertised
The University of Manchester is the largest single source of academic science posts in the city. Its jobs site lets you filter by faculty (Science and Engineering, or Biology, Medicine and Health), by job function such as "Research", and by grade, and you can register for email alerts there. Most postdoctoral posts are tied to a named grant and a fixed end date, and the adverts say so.
A typical example from October 2026 is a research associate post in EPR and magnetism of molecular spin qubits in the Department of Chemistry: 30 months, based on Oxford Road, hybrid working, £37,694 to £46,049 depending on experience, closing on 18 November 2026. The advert asks for a PhD (or one about to be awarded) in chemistry, physics or a closely related field, and expects the postholder to help supervise PhD and undergraduate students. Other university adverts that month included a solid-state NMR post on a £7m EPSRC programme grant shared with Durham and Leeds, and a short fixed-term proton therapy detector post based at The Christie in Withington. That spread, from fundamental chemistry to hospital physics, is normal for Manchester.
The same adverts appear on jobs.ac.uk, the national academic jobs board, which is useful for comparing Manchester with other cities and for catching posts at partner institutes.
Manchester Metropolitan University recruits through its own Manchester Met careers site, which has vacancy alerts, a professorial opportunities section and guidance on applying. On its research pages the university states that 30% of its research, "across more than 740 academics", was rated world-leading in the Research Excellence Framework 2021, and that it is one of the top ten UK universities for knowledge transfer partnerships. Those partnerships, which place a graduate researcher inside a company on a funded project, are worth searching for if you want a bridge between a PhD and industry.
Cancer and clinical research jobs
Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute and The Christie
Manchester's biggest concentration of biomedical research jobs is in Withington. The Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute lists its vacancies on its own careers pages. On 23 October 2026 these included a one-year fixed-term postdoctoral scientist post at £39,253 to £47,543 and a permanent group leader or senior group leader post for a clinician scientist, both closing on 30 October 2026. The institute also offers grant application support to its researchers and says PhD studentships are typically advertised each October.
The institute has a long local history. Its research history page traces it to 1932, when The Christie Hospital and the Holt Radium Institute came together under Ralston Paterson. Laszlo Lajtha became the first full-time director of the research laboratories in 1962. The new Paterson Building in Withington was completed in April 2023, and staff had moved in by August 2023.
Next door, The Christie NHS Foundation Trust describes itself as the largest single-site cancer centre in Europe, treating more than 64,000 patients a year. It was the first UK centre to be accredited as a comprehensive cancer centre and the first NHS organisation to deliver high energy proton beam therapy. It is a partner in the Manchester Cancer Research Centre with the University of Manchester and Cancer Research UK.
NHS research infrastructure
Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT), formed on 1 October 2017, runs ten hospitals on seven sites and employs more than 28,000 staff. Two NIHR-funded bodies hosted in the city employ research scientists and fund research training:
- The NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre received £64.1 million for 2022 to 2028, the largest single research award the NIHR has given to the city region. It calls itself the largest BRC outside the South East of England, partners the University of Manchester with six NHS trusts, and runs 13 research themes, from advanced radiotherapy to hearing health. Its site lists PhD studentships, clinical fellowships and career opportunities.
- The NIHR Manchester Clinical Research Facility describes itself as the largest and most comprehensive NIHR CRF in the UK, working across Manchester Royal Infirmary, The Christie, Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, Wythenshawe Hospital and Salford Royal.
NHS research and healthcare science posts are advertised on the national NHS Jobs site, where you can search by employer and location.
Materials science, graphene and the Henry Royce Institute
Graphene was first isolated at the University of Manchester in 2004, and the city still has an unusually large cluster of jobs in 2D and advanced materials. The Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre (GEIC), in the Masdar Building on Sackville Street, works with companies to develop, de-risk and scale graphene and other 2D materials into products, from formulation and characterisation to prototyping and scale-up. Roles there sit between academic research and product development and suit PhDs who like hands-on lab work with a commercial end point.
A few streets away, the Royce Hub Building is the base of the Henry Royce Institute, which supports UK materials research and is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. The nine-storey building represents an initial EPSRC investment of £105m and holds more than £50m of equipment across areas including biomedical materials, nuclear materials, chemical materials design, and imaging and characterisation. Royce says it coordinates more than 700 academic, technical and research staff across its partners, and it lists openings on its own vacancies page.
Industry roles on Manchester's science parks
Manchester Science Park
Manchester Science Park, on Lloyd Street North (M15 6SE), is run by Bruntwood SciTech and is home to more than 150 businesses across buildings such as Enterprise House, Kilburn House and Rutherford House. Its lab space includes biosafety level 1, 2 and 3 facilities. Tenants named by Bruntwood SciTech include UK Biobank, Yourgene Health and Phagenesis, across life sciences, medtech, digital and advanced materials. The tenant list is the most useful job-hunting tool here: go through it and check each company's own careers page.
Alderley Park
Alderley Park, on Congleton Road in Nether Alderley near Macclesfield, says it is home to more than 250 businesses on 400 acres, with over 1 million sq ft of lab and office space aimed at biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. It is in Cheshire rather than Manchester itself, so think about the commute: the park runs an electric shuttle bus to and from Macclesfield and Wilmslow railway stations, with timetables and tickets through the Zeelo app (checked October 2026).
The Medicines Discovery Catapult is based at Block 35, Mereside, which works with biotech and pharma companies on drug discovery projects. Its partner case studies give a good sense of the techniques in demand, such as mass spectrometry, antibody characterisation and iPSC disease models.
What PhD science jobs in Manchester pay
Pay in universities and the NHS follows published scales, so you can check figures before applying (all checked October 2026):
- University of Manchester. The salary filter on the university's jobs site lists Grade 6 at £38,448 to £46,970 and Grade 7 at £48,337 to £59,390. October 2026 research associate adverts were pitched from £37,694 or £38,448, so always read the salary line in the individual advert.
- Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute. The October 2026 postdoctoral scientist post was advertised at £39,253 to £47,543.
- NHS posts. Healthcare science and NHS research roles use Agenda for Change bands. The NHS Employers 2025/26 pay table puts Band 6 at £38,682 to £46,580, Band 7 at £47,810 to £54,710 and Band 8a at £55,690 to £62,682.
The brief we started from quoted an industry starting range, but we found no official or clearly attributed source for private-sector PhD salaries in Manchester, so we have left it out. Company adverts on the science parks often give a salary, and that is the figure to rely on.
Contract length matters as much as salary. Many academic posts are fixed term because they are funded by a single grant, as the 30-month and one-year examples above show, while NHS and industry roles are more often permanent.
Career development and commercialising research
The Researcher Development Concordat, a UK framework published in September 2019 and signed by universities and funders, expects researchers to take part in a minimum of 10 days of professional development a year, pro rata, and asks managers to allocate that time. When you are offered a post, ask how the group handles this in practice.
The University of Manchester's researcher development pages cover career development support for research staff and note that the university holds the European Commission's HR Excellence in Research award.
For PhDs who want to turn research into a company, the university's Innovation Factory is its technology transfer organisation. It works with academics, researchers and postgraduate students to assess ideas, protect intellectual property and explore spinouts and licensing. Talk to it early if your postdoc project might produce something patentable, because publishing first can limit later protection.
If you are weighing Manchester against other northern cities, our sister guide Leeds Society covers jobs and careers on the other side of the Pennines, and more Manchester guides are on the Manchester Society homepage.
Frequently asked questions
What science jobs exist for PhDs in Manchester?
Postdoctoral, fellowship and lecturer posts at the two universities; cancer research posts at the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute and The Christie; clinical and healthcare science roles at MFT and the NIHR-funded research centres; applied materials work at GEIC and the Henry Royce Institute; and R&D jobs with companies at Manchester Science Park and Alderley Park.
How do researchers find postdoc roles there?
Set alerts on the University of Manchester and Manchester Met job sites, on jobs.ac.uk and on NHS Jobs, and check institute careers pages such as the CRUK Manchester Institute's directly. Read recent papers from the groups you want to join and send a short, specific email to the group leader with your CV, explaining which technique or expertise you would add.
Do I need a PhD in exactly the same field?
Not always. The October 2026 adverts above asked for a PhD in chemistry, physics or a closely related field, or in physics, medical physics or engineering, and then listed specific techniques. Matching the essential criteria in the job description counts for more than the title of your thesis.