Research Assistants/Associates in Electrification and Advanced Manufacturing

Salary:

Research Assistant: £31,396 to £32,982 per annum

Research Associate: £33,966 to £44,263 per annum

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits . We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 01 April 2024

The Role

We are looking for 3 Research Assistants/Associates in Electrification and Advanced Manufacturing based within our School of Engineering .
We are widely recognised for the quality of our research, teaching and industry engagement. As a School that strives to provide an outstanding educational experience, rooted in strong engineering disciplines, this opportunity provides a significant opportunity for a highly motivated and productive individual to develop his/her research and academic career, within a supportive and successful environment.

This an exciting opportunity for an ambitious emerging electrical/mechatronics/mechanical/control engineer to join our well-established electrification research and teaching community. You will be expected to support the Newcastle University Institute of Electrification and Sustainable Advanced Manufacturing (IESAM ). IESAM is developing and delivering flexible, high-quality advanced and digital manufacturing training modules for the Power Electronics, Machines and Drives (PEMD) sector. You will be expected to develop experimental resources related to power electronics, drives, electric machines, automation and control, or robotics which will contribute to research and skills-led teaching in the School of Engineering.

We welcome applications from any areas of power electronics, electric drives, electric machines, control systems, automation, mechatronics, robotics, and mechanical engineering. We are particularly interested in researchers who can contribute to our existing strengths in industry-facing sustainable engineering. Whilst this post is research based, opportunity will be given for personal scholarship and contribution to teaching activities. 

The positions are full time and fixed term until 31 March 2025. We will consider requests for flexible working depending on the needs of the role. The hiring manager will discuss the requirements of the role, should you be invited to interview.

To apply, please complete an online application and upload the following:
(i)    A cover letter detailing how you meet the Person Specifications for a Research Associate appointment and how a position at Newcastle University will foster your academic career and how your research background complements the relevant area.
(ii)    A full curriculum vitae including details of your qualifications, relevant research funding, publications, post-graduate supervision, and include any technical or teaching experiences and citizenship.
(iii)    A research statement of no more than two side of A4. Your statement should include details of your existing or proposed research area(s) and a description of your teaching philosophy.

Please note any ‘additional documents’ that you upload may be redacted and therefore not considered by the reviewing panel. 

Please contact Dr Matthew Armstrong at [email protected] to discuss the role in more detail.

Key Accountabilities

•    Contribute to the development of core IESAM activities

•    Design, construct, and test new hardware and software to support research and teaching activities within IESAM
•    Commission and test advanced electrical and mechanical systems
•    Contribute to the development of practical laboratories, and preparation of system manuals and laboratory materials
•    Write and present industrial reports and professional papers
•    Supervise postgraduate taught students’ projects
•    Participate in the administrative and management processes of IESAM
The Person

Knowledge, Skills, and Experience

•    Subject knowledge of power electronics, electric drives, electric machines, control systems, automation, mechatronics, robotics, or mechanical engineering

•    Technical and professional skills related to relevant topic areas in Electrical and Electronic Engineering
•    Personal research which contributes to the objectives of the School
•    Excellent skills in communication, both verbally and in written forms, including the ability to create, organise and present effectively
•    Effective time management and prioritisation skills to balance the potentially conflicting demands of teaching, research and administration; and the ability to meet deadlines

Desirable 

•    Experience of designing practical work for students
•    Experience in system level dynamic simulation, preferably using Matlab/Simulink
•    Evidence of experience in teaching, delivering practical skills training, developing laboratory exercises, project supervision and/or laboratory demonstrating duties

Attributes and Behaviours

•    Willingness to learn and adopt new approaches to research and training
•    Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to work collaboratively with colleagues and to encourage the commitment of others
•    Professionalism: care and diligence, investing in self-development, taking responsibility, acting with integrity, championing the organization
•    Performance focus: focus on goals and priorities, setting high standards
•    Ethical outlook: expressing the University’s values, displaying high standards of conduct, managing institutional and individual priorities, identifying, and managing conflicts of interest, treating others fairly and showing commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion
•    Awareness of self and others: recognizing and limiting bias, showing empathy and perceptiveness, cultural sensitivity, emotional control

Qualifications

•    An honours degree in Electrical, Mechanical, Control, Production or Manufacturing Engineering
•    A PhD in Electrical, Mechanical, Control, Production or Manufacturing Engineering (Essential for Associate level)

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.  As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society.  We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent.  We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a silver Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality.  We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC.  We are aDisability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe. 

Requisition ID: 26829