Research Associate in Engineering

The Faculty:

The Faculty of Natural, Mathematical & Engineering Sciences (NMES) comprises Chemistry, Engineering, Informatics, Mathematics, and Physics – all departments highly rated in research activities and a wide-ranging portfolio of education programmes.

Celebrating diversity and supporting staff is important to us and we offer a range of provision including flexible working, caring support (including a Parenting and Carers Fund and the Carer’s Career Development Fund), training, and a variety of diversity and inclusion networks. Staff can apply for flexible working to help them balance the demands of their professional and personal commitments and we offer comprehensive leave policies for parental, adoption, surrogacy, dependant and shared leave.

The university is making investment in NMES and both student and staff numbers are growing. Our staff come from over 45 countries and 56% of our students are from outside the UK. Principally located on the Strand Campus in the heart of central London, further details available at www.kcl.ac.uk/nms.

About the role

This position is set within a growing research initiative supported by the prestigious UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship, focusing on the development of sustainable and resilient aluminium-ion batteries. This research project will combine environmental, economic, and supply chain assessments for aluminium-ion and other next generation batteries. The project contains the following aspects:

• Sustainability & Cost Modelling: Conduct comprehensive prospective l****ife cycle assessment and develop techno-economic models to identify environmental and economic hot spots, establishing how next-generation chemistries can become a market-ready contender to lithium-ion systems.
• Supply Chain & Material Flow Analysis: Map the critical materials supply chain for aluminium-based systems, conducting material flow analyses while evaluating the resilience of these chains against shifting geopolitics, trade agreements, and regional policies.
• Technology Expansion: Extend developed sustainability and economic frameworks to evaluate other emerging next-generation battery chemistries.

You will work at the interface of sustainability, economics, and materials science, utilising a unique co-development approach. By collaborating with an experimental team developing innovative cathode materials for aluminium-ion batteries, your research will inform materials choices and lab-scale design decisions.

You will be part of a diverse, and growing research team with a strong focus on creating a positive and collegial group culture. We maintain strong partnerships with researchers both in the UK and internationally, and we are looking for a candidate who is excited about working in a team and willing to travel for collaborative research visits.

We place a strong focus on career development, offering opportunities for conference participation and skills development. You will also have the opportunity to mentor PhD, MSc, and undergraduate students working in the group.

Research staff at King’s are entitled to at least 10 days per year (pro-rata) for professional development. This entitlement, from the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers, applies to Postdocs, Research Assistants, Research and Teaching Technicians, Teaching Fellows and AEP equivalent up to and including grade 7. Visit the   Centre for Research Staff Development for more information.

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