Senior Astrobiology Technician

Open ended contract - Permanent: Full time - 35 hours per week

The School of Physics & Astronomy is seeking to recruit an enthusiastic, experienced and self-motivated individual to join its technical team; providing dedicated technical support to the research and teaching activities of the UK Centre for Astrobiology within the Institute for Condensed Matter and Complex Systems (ICMCS), fulfilling the role of lead technician within the group.

The opportunity:

This role offers a fantastic opportunity to apply and develop your technical, scientific, laboratory management, health & safety and project management skills in an exciting, fast-paced and world leading research and teaching environment.

The successful candidate will provide specialist, dedicated technical support across all of the group’s laboratories within the James Clerk Maxwell Building in Edinburgh, and occasionally at a remote underground site in North Yorkshire. You will play a key role in teaching, including Senior Honours student projects; the MSc in Astrobiology and Planetary Sciences, and Integrated Masters programme projects. You will ensure the needs of the group are met through the design, procurement, construction, operation, maintenance and fault diagnosis of equipment and apparatus, and the provision of significant technical input to the development of ongoing and future projects and experiments which will frequently require your assistance in microbiological activities.

In addition to the above, you will also provide some general technical and facilities support across all areas of the School as required. In particular this is likely to include an element of support for the Health & Safety Manager and Technical Services Manager in terms of ad-hoc testing and repair of laboratory equipment and machinery, assistance with space re-allocation and refurbishment, and assisting with laboratory safety audit compliance, particularly with respect to the biophysics laboratories.

As a minimum, you will be educated to HNC/HND level in a physical science or engineering discipline and have previous relevant vocational experience in a scientific laboratory and/or workshop environment. Whilst the role requires reasonable knowledge and experience of instrumentation, experimental apparatus, and laboratory management, training in specialist areas will be provided as required.

The School of Physics & Astronomy aims to ensure equality of opportunity and holds an Athena SWAN Silver award. We welcome applications from everyone irrespective of gender or ethnic group. Appointment will be based on merit alone.

Your skills and attributes for success:

• Well organised with excellent planning skills
• Self-motivated
• Excellent and well proven inter-personal/communication skills
• A high degree of technical expertise
• Relevant experience in a similar role

To apply, please click on the ‘Apply’ button above.

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