Equipment Scientist

The Role

Are you looking for an exciting opportunity to make a difference? Join our team and contribute to the future of fusion energy. As an MRF Equipment Scientist, you will play a pivotal operational role in the Materials Research Facility (MRF). Your role will be to enable research and experimental activities in the MRF, either alone or in a team, either with customers or as part of UKAEA research (sometimes in collaboration with universities and overseas research organisations).  

You will enable the day-to-day running of equipment, conduct experiments using specialist scientific equipment, utilise scientific equipment to produce samples for further analysis, deliver training and oversee maintenance. You will participate in the acquisition, installation and integration of new equipment, and in the development of new materials testing techniques, as driven by customer requirements, appropriate to radioactive specimens in MRF’s hot cell and shielded room environments. Whilst there are focused areas of expertise, cross-training is encouraged.

Additional Responsibilities:

- Responsible for day-to-day running of some scientific equipment, operations, maintenance, interacting with customers and service engineers.

- Work with external collaborators including UK and overseas universities, public sector research establishments and industry in fusion, fission and other fields. These will often be world-leading institutions.

- Preparation of safety and training documentation, for example: risk assessments, method statements, reports, testing and commissioning procedures and operating instructions for scientific equipment. 

- Work with other groups such as Engineering to deliver equipment integration, and Technicians and Health Physics to deliver experimental work.   

- Responsible for purchasing equipment and consumables up to £10k (but providing technical input to procurement projects in the hundreds of £k). 

Qualifications

Essential Requirements:

- Degree OR higher education qualification OR HNC in a Physical Sciences related field such as Physics, Materials, Chemistry, etc. or equivalent experience.

- Practical experience with, and strong working knowledge of, techniques relating to at least one of the following areas:

- Microstructural: SEM, FIB, TEM, Raman Spectroscopy, X-Ray Diffraction.

- Thermophysical: TGA, DSC, MS, Dilatometry, Laser Flash Analysis.

- Mechanical: Micromechanical testing, Nanoindentation, Instrumented Indentation, load frame testing.

Desirable Requirements

- Masters or PhD in an appropriate field.

- Demonstratable experience working in an industrial setting, such as a laboratory, or in manufacturing.

- Experience working in a regulatory environment.

- Experience writing documentation such as risk assessments, method statements, standard operating procedures, etc.

- Experience installing, and commissioning, new equipment and/or technique development.

- Experience working with hazardous materials.

- A track record of working with a range of characterisation equipment in addition to those listed above.

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