Research Assistant/Research Fellow in Industrial Decarbonisation - 16484

Location: Brunel University London, Uxbridge Campus

Salary: Grade R1

Research Assistant: from £36,640 to £38,638 inclusive of London Weighting with potential to progress to £39,682 per annum inclusive of London Weighting through sustained exceptional contribution.

Research Fellow: from £40,757 to £44,179 inclusive of London Weighting with potential to progress to £47,921 per annum inclusive of London Weighting through sustained exceptional contribution.

Hours: Full-time

Contract Type: Fixed-term

Brunel University London was established in 1966 and is a leading multidisciplinary research-intensive technology university delivering economic, social and cultural benefits. For more information please visit: https://www.brunel.ac.uk/about/our-history/home

We are looking for an enthusiastic, ambitious and experienced researcher to work on an exciting new project on decarbonisation of food supply chains. The project is one of 10 projects funded by UK Research and Innovation (UPRI) as part of the Place Based Impact Acceleration Account (PBIAA) scheme. Further information can be found at: https://parkroyalnetzero.co.uk/

Our project, Park Royal Net Zero Food Supply Chains is based at the Park Royal Industrial area. Park Royal in West London is one of the largest employment sites in the UK, with 1,700 businesses, employing 40,000 people and producing 30% of London’s food. The aim is to work closely with the food and drink businesses in the area to develop and implement strategies to address the challenges they face with energy, waste, and productivity to reduce carbon cost, improve resilience and drive economic growth.

The appointee will work alongside business development managers and academics to engage with food businesses at Park Royal, to first understand and quantify the energy demand, greenhouse gas emissions and waste from their operations and then investigate and propose solutions that will lead to reductions towards the net zero target.

The successful applicant is expected to have a PhD or other postgraduate qualification with experience in a relevant area of engineering or technology and good knowledge of food supply chains. Industry experience and good knowledge of technologies that can contribute to reducing energy demand and emissions from food manufacturing and/or improve productivity, such as electrification of cooking and baking, heat recovery and conversion, heat pumps and refrigeration will be considered an advantage. Experience in thermodynamic modelling of energy technologies and systems and the use of software such as Aspen Plus, TRNSYS, and Computational Fluid Dynamics will also be advantageous to the project.

The appointee will also be expected to have excellent oral and written communication skills and be able to work closely with other researchers in the group and project collaborators.

We offer a generous annual leave package plus discretionary University closure days, excellent training and development opportunities as well as a great occupational pension scheme and a range of health-related support.

For further information please contact Professor Savvas Tassou.

Email: savvas.tassou@brunel.ac.uk

Closing date for applications: 17 August 2025

For further details about the post including the Job Description and Person Specification and to apply please click the Apply button.

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Brunel University London has a strong commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion. Our aim is to promote and achieve a fully inclusive workforce to reflect our community.

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