Preclinical Senior Technical Officer

About Us

The School of Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Sciences is an interdisciplinary School dedicated to the development, clinical translation and clinical application of medical imaging technologies and devices. Staff & students comprise physicists, chemists, biologists, engineers, mathematicians & clinicians working together in a highly cross-disciplinary way.

About The Role

The department is looking to recruit a Preclinical Technical Officer in the field of small animal imaging, working mainly in the fields of nanoSPECT/CT and nanoPET/CT with opportunities to also work with PET/MR, MRI, optical imaging & focussed external beam irradiation therapy. The purpose of this role is to support, train and advise multidisciplinary scientists and students using and developing novel medical imaging methodology. 

The incumbent will be expected to support the Pre-clinical Imaging Operations Manager to manage and maintain the preclinical imaging facilities (e.g. calibration, quality control, testing imaging scanners; trouble-shooting); ensure compliance of facilities & users with the relevant regulations and government bodies, with control over stocks, equipment and supplies.  

Responsibilities include providing: teaching, advice and training on techniques/procedures, operation of the scanners and data and image analysis; facilitating the efficient and ethical operation of animal experiments involving imaging to achieve the aims of various research programmes.  In addition, the post holder will be expected to extract maximum value and capability from the imaging facilities, by developing and implementing novel quantitative imaging protocols and flexible data analysis pipelines in response to the needs of colleagues. 

Duties also include good communication, critical evaluation and problem-solving skills, use and monitoring of safe working practices to maintain and improve health & safety compliance.  Included are completing risk assessments, SOPS, adjusting protocols and facilities to reduce levels of risk including negative environmental impacts. When required, reporting accidents/ incidents and participating in accident investigations. 

Independent decisions will be expected, in a timely manner to solve problems which impact the facilities and contribute to collaborative decisions. This role requires the postholder to work independently based on an agreed work plan, setting own priorities and working cooperatively with stakeholders to achieve the service objectives.

The post holder will keep informed about developments in relevant technical/scientific fields and adopt and adapt new approaches/ methodologies to meet local needs. By forging relationships with colleagues in the university and externally, they will contribute to our collaborative and multi-disciplinary ethos and culture. 

This is a full-time 35 hours per week role, and you will be offered a fixed-term contract for 24 months.

About You

To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience: 

Essential criteria

• PhD qualified (or near completion) in Medical Physics/Imaging Biology/ related field. 
• Experience of working with small animal imaging (PET, SPECT, MR, Optical etc) or other medical imaging discipline. 
• Experience of small animal disease models, anaesthesia, drug administration & other aspects of small animal experimentation. 
• Understanding and knowledge of hardware and software in relation to medical imaging. 
• Proven technical problem-solving & trouble-shooting abilities. 
• Knowledge of a range of radionuclides & other ionising radiation. 
• Experience with data management, data reconstruction & analysis. 
• Proven experience working with a wide range of internal & external stakeholders and auditors.

Desirable criteria

• Home Office Personal Licence  
• Experience with a range of radionuclides and other ionising radiation.
• Self-motivated, showing initiative, flexible and co-operative.
• Able to handle several projects at once and prioritise and work to targets and deadlines.
• Statistical analytical skills and/or pharmacokinetic modelling.

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