He obtained his PhD at the University of Sheffield in 2004 before moving to Earth Sciences at the University of Leeds for a Post-Doctoral Research Assistant post, going on to secure a prestigious UKRI-NERC Fellowship in 2005.

He was a Lecturer in Earth System Science at the University of Leeds between 2008 and 2011 and a Research Fellow in Sedimentary Geology and Civil Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign between 2009 and 2011.

He moved to the University of Hull to take up the role of Professor of Process Sedimentology, a post he held between 2011 and 2022, as well as holding the position of Associate Dean for Research and Enterprise between 2014 and 2017. He was the founding and inaugural Director of a University-wide Energy and Environment Institute (EEI) in 2017. The Institute grew under his leadership, bringing together a multidisciplinary team of more than 180 researchers to conduct impactful research on the global challenges presented by environmental change.

Professor Parsons also holds a number of external roles. He is a member of UKRI-NERC’s Science Committee and is presently also Division President at the European Geosciences Union.