Specialist Technician (Geomicrobiology and Geochemistry Research Lab Technician)

The role

We are looking for a motivated Specialist Technician (Grade G) to join the team of a large UKRI-funded research project PETRARCH (Pinpointing Earth-System Thresholds for Anoxia with new Reconstructions of the Cretaceous Hothouse), under PI Dr. Michael Henehan. Motivated by continuing depletion of oxygen in large swathes of our oceans, the project aims to understand the thresholds in climate and ecosystems beyond which Earth can tip into periods of extreme and prolonged global marine anoxia. In practice sense, we will apply state-of-the-art geochemical tools (in particular boron isotopes) to the sedimentary record of the Cretaceous (145 – 66 million years ago) and synthesise this data in Earth system models to untangle the key factors (ecological, biogeochemical and physical) that lead to a CO₂ injection becoming a profound anoxic event.

To assist and support a team that will include the PI, two post-docs and two doctoral students, we are looking for a Specialist Technician whose role will be to facilitate the generation of high-quality geochemical proxy data. The position is initially secured for two years, with potential for extension, with a preferred start date as soon as possible after the 1^st of February 2023.

What will you be doing?

• The successful applicant will work in consultation with the PI to develop infrastructure and methods for low-level boron purification from biogenic silica matrices in the Bristol Isotope Group (BIG) laboratories
• The successful applicant will work cleanly within existing BIG laboratory protocols to generate reliable, high precision boron isotope and trace element measurements for the PI and occasionally other PETRARCH Team Members
• The successful applicant will ensure reproducible science through detailed and organised documentation of all relevant steps of sample preparation and data collection
• The successful applicant will be responsible for maintaining and organising micropalaeontological lab space, for an orderly analytical pipeline from drill-core sample to datapoint
• The successful applicant will also take part in training new users in proper laboratory techniques and sample preparation methodologies in both micropalaeontology (sediment washing, microfossil picking) and geochemistry (sample cleaning, column chemistry, sample dilution and, depending on applicant profile, perhaps analysis).
• The successful applicant will manage all elements of health and safety in the labs, writing risk assessments and method statements/standard operating procedures to ensure compliance with all relevant guidelines.

You should apply if

The successful candidate should be:

• Capable of working cleanly, carefully, responsibly and methodically in a shared-use trace metal-clean laboratory space
• Someone who takes pride in their work and in maintaining high analytical standards
• Motivated by problem solving and innovating to improve laboratory reproducibility and efficiency
• Someone who is organised and dependable
• Able to integrate and interact well within a diverse team and broader laboratory user group, and contribute to maintaining good morale and interpersonal relationships within the lab
• Communicative and adept at encouraging open information exchange between lab users and the PI

Desirable – but not essential – qualities for any candidate could include any of:  

• Experience in micropalaeontological methods
• Knowledge of running or preparing samples for Multicollector or High Resolution Inductively-Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometers (MC- or HR-ICPMS)
• Experience with ion exchange column chromatography
• Familiarity and ease with basic chemical preparations and calculations (titrations, dilutions, etc.)
• Experience training other laboratory users

Additional information

For informal enquiries, contact: Dr. Michael Henehan; Michael.Henehan@bristol.ac.uk 

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