Workshop Technician

About us

University College London (UCL)

UCL is a multi-disciplinary university with a population of over 13,000 staff and 42,000 students from 150 different countries. For more information, see http://www.ucl.ac.uk/about

Institute of Making (IoM)

The IoM is a unique organisation that explores, celebrates, and investigates materials and processes through a wide range of activities. From large-scale public events to ground-breaking academic research projects, our diverse outputs and many audiences are united by a shared passion for materials and making. In Autumn 2023, we opened a second IoM space in Stratford, expanding our facilities with a bespoke space at UCL East, on the Olympic Park.

About the role

The Workshop Technician is responsible for the day-to-day supervision, administration and health and safety of our workshops and is the first point of contact for people using our space.

The post-holder should have excellent people skills and be prepared to encourage and guide users with a wide range of competencies and maturity, from beginners to experts, from children to adults. They should be approachable, able to work within a team and be able to offer advice and direction to students and fellow staff members in the form of both formal training as well as informal individual and group meetings. The post-holder must engage with staff and students in discussion, work with sketches and preliminary drawings, and be able to advise users on modifications, alternatives, and further developments of their ideas.

About you

The successful candidate will need to demonstrate the following criteria:

• Must have worked within a student or shared workshop environment with responsibility for several complex tasks. This could include ceramics, fine art, engineering or technical design applications, and the development of innovative projects.
• Must be able to use several precision workshop pieces of equipment such as: 3D printers, laser cutters, sewing machines, 3D laser scanners, lathes, milling and cutting machines, and computer-controlled equipment.
• Demonstrate specialist materials and making related skills and knowledge in at least one area such as coding, digital manufacturing, electronics, metalwork, or textiles.

Please see the attached job description and person specification for full details. Please also read the attached Candidate Guidance document. When completing your supporting statement, please tell us, using examples, how you meet the essential criteria listed in the job description.

This appointment is subject to UCL Terms and Conditions of Service for Research and Professional Services Staff. Please visit www.ucl.ac.uk/human-resources/conditions-service-research-teaching-and-professional-services-staff for more information.

If you have any queries about the role or application process, have any technical issues, or need reasonable adjustments or a more accessible format to apply for this job online, please contact the staffing team on

The UCL Ways of Working supports colleagues to be successful and happy at UCL through sharing expectations around how we work – please visit ucl.ac.uk/human-resources/policies-advice/ways-working to find out more.

What we offer

As well as the exciting opportunities this role presents, we also offer great benefits. Please visit https://www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/reward-and-benefits to find out more.

Equality and Diversity

As London’s Global University, we know diversity fosters creativity and innovation, and we want our community to represent the diversity of the world’s talent. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong.

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