Lead R&D Engineer (Whole Energy Systems)

Faculty: Faculty of Engineering

Department/School: Electronic and Electrical Engineering

Staff Category: Knowledge Exchange

Type of Employment: Open-ended

Working Hours: Full-time

Salary range: £53,348 - £60,022
FTE: 1 (35 hours/week)
Term: Open Contract 
Closing date: 26 September 2021

The Power Networks Demonstration Centre (PNDC), part of the University of Strathclyde (Times Higher Education Awards University of the Year 2019 and Scottish University of the Year 2020), wishes to appoint a Lead R&D Engineer (Whole Energy Systems) to inspire our innovation activities focussed on the development, realisation and integration of whole energy system solutions (electricity, heat, transport). By bringing your expertise to our project teams and key stakeholders, our aim is to accelerate innovation and de-risk the deployment and integration of new technology and business models, ultimately deploying them within the net-zero energy system of the future.

The Lead R&D Engineer (Whole Energy Systems) will be responsible for the leadership, development and delivery of a wide range of technical projects to support the growth of PNDC’s whole energy system activities, with a particular emphasis on experimental validation and testing. The postholder will also be responsible for the development, growth and leadership of a team of R&D Engineers to support these activities, and will be expected to develop and lead on high value industrial funding proposals in addition to working with PNDC’s industrial partners.

Opportunities for innovation are extensive, through the strong working relationship and routes to market afforded by PNDC’s industry members and collaborative opportunities with other research and industry teams in the UK and abroad.

PNDC offers a dynamic and varied environment,providing the opportunity to be involved in leading edge work within the energy sector. As part of the University of Strathclyde, PNDC can offer a wide range of benefits to the post holder, including a generous holiday entitlement, pension scheme, and discounts to the state-of-the-art Strathclyde Sport gym and leisure facilities. The University also currently holds a Bronze Athena SWAN award recognising our commitment to advancing women's careers in science, technology,engineering, maths and medicine (STEMM)employment in academia.

To be considered for the role, you will:

• Possess the knowledge, skills and experience normally associated with a PhD in a relevant field or you will be educated to Honours Degree level with relevant industrial experience
• Have significant innovation experience in low-carbon technology and whole system integration across the electricity, heat and transport sectors
• Be able to apply this knowledge in a highly practical environment, have experience of leading the delivery of research and development projects in collaboration with industry or in an industrial context, and have strong leadership and communication skills
• Be able to lead and contribute to high value industrial funding proposals
• Be a self-starter, and be able to plan, conduct and co-ordinate research and knowledge exchange activities with minimal supervision, as well as generate new ideas and concepts, with the capacity to work in a dynamically changing team environment

Formal interviews for this post will be held in October 2021.

Informal enquiries about the post can be directed to Richard Knight, Director for Strategy & Technology(richard.knight@strath.ac.uk).