Research Associate in High Throughput Experimentation

Location: White City Campus

Job Summary

Applications are invited for a Research Associate position in the Department of Chemistry, based at our state-of-the-art research facilities at Imperial College London White City campus. The project is funded by EPSRC, titled “Adopting Green Solvents through Predicting Reaction Outcomes with AI/Machine Learning”, involving academic investigators from 3 institutions (Imperial College London, University of Leeds, and University of Southampton), as well as various industrial and academic partners in the UK and internationally. 

Duties and responsibilities

You will join a multidisciplinary team of scientists who are highly motivated about exploring the use of new tools and technologies to advance the field of synthetic chemistry. Your role will involve: i) Translating published synthetic procedures into automated workflows that can be implemented on the high-throughput reaction platforms and analytical equipment available in the ROAR facility, ii) Handling large databases of complex reaction data, and iii) developing tools for interacting with and analysing these databases. Outputs will be provided to our collaborators, who will develop reaction prediction tools using machine learning approaches.

As a member of the research team, you will be expected to participate in co-supervision of project students, oversee smooth and safe operation of the lab. 

Essential requirements

Applicants should hold, or be near completion of, a PhD in synthetic organic chemistry or physical organic chemistry, ideally with experience in performing reactions in parallel, handling automated kinetic instruments, and associated analytical techniques (HPLC, GC). Knowledge of Design-of-Experiment and automated high-throughput reaction technologies would be particularly advantageous.

The ability to develop and apply new concepts and have a creative approach to problem-solving, to set and attain research objectives in a multidisciplinary team are essential. Considerable independence is expected, with anticipation of a growing role in leadership of the research. However, you must also be able to relate well with others, form positive relationships with a wide range of people and to work as part of a team.

You must have excellent verbal and written communication skills, and write clearly and succinctly, as you are expected to submit publications to refereed journals and to join in attracting external research funding.

Further information

This is a full time, fixed term position for up to 18 months, with possibility of extension. You will be based at White City Campus.

Candidates who have not yet been officially awarded their PhD will be appointed as a Research Assistant.

Should you require any further details on the role please contact: Prof Mimi Hii mimi.hii@imperial.ac.uk 

The College is a proud signatory to the San-Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), which means that in hiring and promotion decisions, we evaluate applicants on the quality of their work, not the journal impact factor where it is published. For more information, see https://www.imperial.ac.uk/research-and-innovation/about-imperial-research/research-evaluation/

The College believes that the use of animals in research is vital to improve human and animal health and welfare. Animals may only be used in research programmes where their use is shown to be necessary for developing new treatments and making medical advances. Imperial is committed to ensuring that, in cases where this research is deemed essential, all animals in the College’s care are treated with full respect, and that all staff involved with this work show due consideration at every level. http://www.imperial.ac.uk/research-and-innovation/about-imperial-research/research-integrity/animal-research/ 

Closing Date: 20/03/2024

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