Research Fellow Henry Royce TFI (four posts available)

Job reference: SAE-020664

Closing date: 04/01/2023

Salary: £54,949 to £65,578 per annum depending on relevant experience

Employment type: Fixed Term

Faculty/Organisation: Science and Engineering

Division: Henry Royce Institute for Advanced Materials

Hours per week: Full-time (35 hours per week / 1.0 FTE), part-time considered

Contract Duration: Fixed-term (12-months in the first instance), starting on or before 1 April 2023 with secondment opportunities considered

School / Directorate: FSE Research Institutes

EconoMISER (Economical Material Innovation for Sustainable and Efficient use of Resources) is an ambitious and exciting new £19.5m Innovate UK funded project aimed at helping to transform the foundation industries (TFI). It is the first project to be delivered by the Foundation Industries Sustainability Consortium (FISC) which links academia, public sector and companies to develop a systems approach to carbon reduction, process improvement and product development to create positive impact in the ceramics, chemicals, glass, metals, paper and polymers foundation industries (FI). The Henry Royce Institute (Royce) forms a key pivotal element of EconoMISER, alongside the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI), Glass Futures (GFL), Materials Processing Institute (MPI), and a Ceramics Industry partner. EconoMISER will be uniquely placed to help create a low carbon resource efficient sustainable future, and establish a precedent of working collaboratively across FI supply chains and between academia, innovators and industry. It will enhance existing R&I assets to provide capabilities addressing technical challenges/barriers across five core themes, each vital to all FI manufacturing processes:

• Alternative Fuels (Lead GFL): developing of low carbon alternative fuels to heat/melt raw materials and facilitate processing
• Circular economy feedstock, recycling and reuse (Lead Royce): preventing material from being lost to the environment reduces costs, carbon footprint and environmental pollution
• Digital control and sensor (Lead CPI): accurately measuring and controlling processes reduces variation, this makes higher-quality, higher-value products and reduces waste
• Process optimisation (Lead Ceramics Industry partner): improving the process efficiency and reducing the energy associated with heating material reduces material and energy input directly affecting profitability and the impact of carbon
• Sustainable materials development (Lead MPI): developing stronger, lighter materials that require fewer material/energy inputs reduce manufacturing impacts per product

Royce is seeking to recruit 4 TFI Fellows to enable and foster academic and industrial engagement with the Foundation Industry Sustainability Consortium (FISC) as well as to foster cross sector collaboration across the four sector technology organisations and with the Royce Institute. They will help establish links across the technology and manufacturing readiness levels, to engage low TRL activity in high TRL problems arising in industry, and to accelerate impact from breakthrough academic ideas into manufacturing research across the UK’s industrial base.

The TFI Fellows will act as a knowledge exchange engine for EconoMISER and FISC. They will also help the project to think and act strategically around the research and innovation needs of the FIs, defining the next steps after EconoMISER. The roles will suit those with a strong network across the foundation industries relevant to at least one of the 4 RTOs, wide experience of research and development across the technology readiness as well as an appreciation of university research capability and delivery. They should be able to have an immediate impact within FISC and be able to work with, and form, a diverse set of teams, including the new role of Application Scientists which are being appointed across Royce to support the technical aspects of project delivery for industry. Once the challenges and opportunities have been identified they will work with the EconoMISER team to identify how we can address them, either as separate centres or collaboratively.

Location is To be agreed, dependent on FI sector supported.

As an equal opportunities employer we welcome applicants from all sections of the community regardless of age, sex, gender (or gender identity), ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation and transgender status. All appointments are made on merit.

Our University is positive about flexible working – you can find out more here

Blended working arrangements may be considered

Please note that we are unable to respond to enquiries, accept CVs or applications from Recruitment Agencies.

Enquiries about the vacancy, shortlisting and interviews:

Name: Prof. Philip Withers, Royce Chief Scientist or Prof. David Knowles, Royce Chief Executive Officer

Email: p.j.withers@manchester.ac.uk or david.knowles@royce.ac.uk

General enquiries:

Email: People.recruitment@manchester.ac.uk

Technical support:

https://jobseekersupport.jobtrain.co.uk/support/home

This vacancy will close for applications at midnight on the closing date.