Computational Chemistry KTP Associate (Fixed Term)

Reference SCI312422

Closing Date Thursday, 1st September 2022

Job Type Research

Department Chemistry

Salary £45,000 to £50,000 depending on qualifications and experience

The University of Nottingham invites applications for a Computational Chemistry KTP Associate to join our exciting collaboration with Colorifix Ltd.  

Colorifix Ltd produces eco-friendly dye alternatives and is the first company to use a biological process to produce, deposit and fix pigments and dyes onto textile. 

Based at the company’s premises in Norwich (with some travel to their site in Cambridge and to the University of Nottingham), this position offers a unique opportunity to lead the delivery of a strategic project to develop novel computational chemistry tools to improve the rate of production of sustainable pigments and dyes for the textile industry.  A key aspect of your role will be to develop software for Colorifix’s computational platform.

You will:

• Generate and curate colourant datasets
• Train and validate machine learning models to predict colourant properties for use in a standalone software application and integrate this with existing information systems
• Write well-documented easy-to-maintain software and associated research papers for peer-reviewed publication
• Work closely with company employees and ensure all work embeds the new knowledge.

You must have:

• A PhD (or be close to completing one) in Computational Chemistry, Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science, and / or a relevant discipline with a significant cheminformatics component.
• Strong programming skills and must be proficient in Python.
• Experience in database management.
• Experience in developing QSAR models.
• Familiarity with common cheminformatics libraries.
• Experience in setting up and running machine-learning pipelines.
• Familiarity with git and Unix OS
• Excellent organisational, communication and team working skills.

Through the Knowledge Transfer Partnership   (KTP), you will be given the support and mentoring you need to nurture your talent. You will have your own budget for training and CPD to help you develop your current skillset and reach your personal and professional career goals. 

 The University of Nottingham is committed to providing competitive employment packages whilst supporting the well-being of our staff to help them reach their full potential. As a University employee, you will have access to the resources of the University as well as a range of benefits and rewards, including staff discounts, travel schemes, and a highly attractive pension scheme.

This is a fixed term contract funded through a KTP award, a UK Government scheme intended to promote sustained and mutually beneficial relationships between universities and industry. It is anticipated that there will be a permanent position available at Colorifix at the end of the project.

This role is available on a fixed term basis for 2 years 6 months. Hours of work are full time (36.25 hours). Job share arrangements may be considered.

Informal enquiries may be addressed to Professor Jonathan Hirst - [email protected] Please note that applications sent directly to these email addresses will not be accepted.

Our University is a supportive, inclusive, caring and positive community. We warmly welcome those of different cultures, ethnicities and beliefs – indeed this very diversity is vital to our success, it is fundamental to our values and enriches life on campus. We welcome applications from UK, Europe and from across the globe. For more information on the support we offer our international colleagues, see our Moving to Nottingham pages.

For successful international applicants, we provide financial support for your visa and the immigration health surcharge, plus an interest-free loan to help cover the cost of immigration-related expenses for any dependants accompanying you to the UK. For more information please see the our webpage on Financial support for visas and the immigration health surcharge .