Postdoctoral Research Fellow/Research Officer - School of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of EAIT

• School or Chemical Engineering – Faculty of EAIT

• Join a university ranked in the world’s top 50

• Research program - state-of-the-art electrolyser design, testing, and evaluation

• Full-time (100%), fixed term appointment for 3 years

• Visa sponsorship may be available for this appointment

• Based at our picturesque and Vibrant St Lucia Campus

About UQ
As part of the UQ community, you will have the opportunity to work alongside the brightest minds, who have joined us from all over the world, and within an environment where interdisciplinary collaborations are encouraged.
At the core of our teaching remains our students, and their experience with us sets a foundation for success far beyond graduation. UQ has made a commitment to making education opportunities available for all Queenslanders, regardless of personal, financial, or geographical barriers.

As part of our commitment to excellence in research and professional practice in academic contexts, we are proud to provide our staff with access to world-class facilities and equipment, grant writing support, greater research funding opportunities, and other forms of staff support and development.

About This Opportunity 

This is an exciting opportunity for a Postdoctoral Research Fellow / Research Officer to apply and develop your skills in electrochemical engineering through the design, testing and performance evaluation of CO2 electrolysers. This position is for up to three years appointment in the UQ School of Chemical Engineering funded by the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Green Electrochemical Transformation of Carbon Dioxide (GETCO2). This opportunity will help you to develop your expertise and build your research profile as part of a multidisciplinary project team.

The successful applicant is expected to contribute to service and engagement in the ARC Centre of Excellence for Green Electrochemical Transformation of Carbon Dioxide and the School of Chemical Engineering. Opportunities to develop your teaching skills may also be available during the term of the appointment.

Key responsibilities will include: 

Research

• Develop a coherent research program for state-of-the-art electrolyser design, testing, and evaluation.

• Produces quality research outputs consistent with discipline norms by publishing or exhibiting in high-quality outlets.

• Participate in applications for competitive research funding to support projects and activities.

• Work with colleagues in the development of joint research projects and applications for competitive research funding support.

• Contribute to progressing towards transferring knowledge, technology and practices to research end users through translation, including commercialisation of UQ intellectual property.

• Review and draw upon best practice research methodologies.

Supervision and Researcher Development

• Contribute to the effective supervision of Honours and Higher Degree by Research students (as appropriate).

• Demonstrates personal effectiveness in supervision and the management of researcher development.

• As appropriate, manage research support staff effectively throughout the employee lifecycle in accordance with University policy and procedures.

• Working to promptly resolve conflict and grievances when they arise in accordance with University policy and procedures.

Citizenship and Service

• Demonstrate citizenship behaviours that align with the UQ values.

• Shows leadership of self through collaboration and active participation in priority activities for the Centre of Excellence and School of Chemical Engineering.

• Provide support to other academic positions and unit operations as needed during other team members' absences.

• Contribute to internal service roles and administrative processes as required, including participation in decision-making and service on relevant committees.

• Collaborate in service activities external to the Centre of Excellence and School of Chemical Engineering.

• Begin to develop external links and partnerships by cultivating relationships with industry, government departments, professional bodies and the wider community.

This is a research focused position. Further information can be found by viewing UQ’s Criteria for Academic Performance .

This is a full-time (100%), fixed-term position for up to 3 years at an Academic level A. The full-time equivalent base salary will be in the range $75,808.68 - $100,926.59, plus a generous super allowance of up to 17%. The total FTE package will be up to $88,696.16 - $118,084.11 annually. As this role is covered by an Enterprise Agreement, you will also receive regular remuneration increases – at least once a year.

The greater benefits of joining the UQ community are broad:  from being part of a Group of Eight university, to recognition of prior service with other Australian universities, up to 26 weeks of paid parental leave, 17.5% annual leave loading, flexible working arrangements including hybrid on site/WFH options and flexible start/finish times, and genuine career progression opportunities via the academic promotions process.

About You  

• Completion or near completion of a PhD in chemical engineering, electrochemistry, or closely related discipline.

• Experience in laboratory research experiments with electrolysers for CO2 conversion, H2 production, or other electrochemical reactions.

• Strong ability to conduct novel research with limited supervision.

• An emerging profile in research in electrochemistry, CO2 utilisation, or green energy-related discipline.

• Evidence of publications in Q1 refereed journals and presenting at conferences.

• Evidence of successful participation in collaborations, including international and/or industry collaborations.

• Some experience in meaningful internal service roles and contributions towards external activities.

• Some experience in technoeconomic analysis and/or life cycle assessment of chemical engineering processes.

In addition, the following mandatory requirements apply:

• Work Rights: Visa sponsorship may be available for this appointment. 

• Background Checks: All final applicants for this position may be asked to consent to a criminal record check. Please note that people with criminal records are not automatically barred from applying for this position. Each application will be considered on its merits. 

Relocating from interstate or overseas? We will support you with the visa sponsorship process and a relocation support package. You can find out more about life in Australia’s Sunshine State here .

Questions? 

For more information about this opportunity, please contact Associate Professor Tom Rufford . For application queries, please contact [email protected] stating the job reference number (below) in the subject line.

Want to Apply? 

All applicants must upload the following documents in order for your application to be considered:

• Resume

• Cover letter

• Responses to the ‘About You’ section

Other Information 

At UQ we know that our greatest strengths come from our diverse mix of colleagues, this is reflected in our ongoing commitment to creating an environment focused on equity, diversity and inclusion .  We ensure that we are always attracting, retaining and promoting colleagues who are representative of the diversity in the broader community, whether that be gender identity , LGBTQIA+ , cultural and/or linguistic , Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples , or people with a disability . Accessibility requirements and/or adjustments can be directed to [email protected] .

If you are a current employee (including casual staff and HDR scholars) or hold an unpaid/affiliate appointment, please login to your staff Workday account and visit the internal careers board to apply for this opportunity. Please do NOT apply via the external job board.

Applications close on Tuesday, 2 April 2024 at 11.00pm AEST (R-35258).