Thermal Engineering Technician

About us

UCL East

In our single biggest development since we were founded, UCL expanded to East London. Located on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, UCL East is dedicated to disruptive thinking and discovery across disciplines and beyond academic walls, to find solutions to the biggest challenges for future living.

More than just a conventional campus, UCL East represents a future focused mindset. We will deliver new research, technology and innovation, and more than 50 undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes for up to 4,000 students.

The Advanced Propulsion Lab (APL) is a cross-faculty hub, bringing together researchers from the UCL departments of Mechanical Engineering and Chemical Engineering, with the Department of Mechanical Engineering as the lead partner for this APL recruitment. Research in APL focuses on the critical challenge of decarbonizing the transport sector, including land, sea and air applications, as well as the generation of electrofuels to service these sectors. APL will have a truly molecules-to-systems reach, and this is reflected in the breadth of experience this round of recruitment will target.

We are looking to recruit a technical staff member in this round to strengthen the APL delivery team and work collaboratively with colleagues within the department, other departments, as well as within UCL East more widely.

About the role

UCL Mechanical Engineering is seeking to appoint an specialist in the field of thermal engineering. The main purpose of the job is to provide and manage technical support to researchers, academic staff, students and others within the Advanced Propulsion Lab (APL), to help the APL achieve its strategic research and teaching objectives. The post holder would also be able to lead on the development of research projects, modelling, simulation, developing, analysing and validating thermal management design solutions. The post holder will be expected to manage other technical staff involved in supporting APL research and teaching, to and to assist in the maintenance and management of equipment, instruments and laboratory facilities.

Pleaes follow the "Apply" link below to our jobs board for more detailed insight into the post's requirements.

About you

We would be delighted to receive applications from candidates who meet the following criteria:

• Experience in the installation and calibration of temperature, pressure drop, flow rate and other relevant instrumentation
• In-depth knowledge of heat exchangers and thermal management systems, as well as the commissioning of such experimental setups
• Well-developed or excellent practical skills to convert designs into products and to commission them, using in-house and external manufacture facilities and technologies.
• Working knowledge of Matlab, CFD software and data acquisition software such as Labview
• Experience of working without direct supervision and taking responsibility for meeting service standards and agreeing targets and workloads.
• A strong understanding of the principles of heat transfer and fluid dynamics
• Effective written and verbal communication skills in English
• Ability to operate standard laboratory and thermal equipment including maintenance, calibration and testing where applicable
• Competency in standard computer skills (Microsoft, Excel, Word and Outlook)
• Commitment to high quality teaching and fostering a positive learning environment for students.
• Ability to work collaboratively and as part of a team

While not essential, your application will be enhanced if you are able to meet the following desirable criteria:

• Qualified to PhD degree level, equivalent or above in Mechanical or Chemical Engineering
• Proven experience of operational management of workshops or laboratories, purchasing and budget management, and supervision of junior staff or students.
• Well established or excellent fault finding and judgment skills and the ability to engage constructively with students and staff whilst under pressure.
• Proven experience or expertise in high-speed imaging and flow visualisation.

HOW TO APPLY:

Please take care to include a cover letter with your application. Referring to the attached Job Description & Person Specification, copy and paste the essential/desirable criteria into your "Statement in support of your application" describe underneath each criterion how you meet its requirements, giving examples. You will be scored on how you meet each criterion.

What we offer

As well as the exciting opportunities this role presents, we also offer some great benefits some of which are below:

• 41 Days holiday (27 days annual leave 8 bank holiday and 6 closure days)
• Additional 5 days' annual leave purchase scheme
• Defined benefit career average revalued earnings pension scheme (CARE)
• Cycle to work scheme and season ticket loan
• Immigration loan
• Relocation scheme for certain posts
• On-Site nursery
• On-site gym
• Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption pay
• Employee assistance programme: Staff Support Service
• Discounted medical insurance

Please visit out Rewards and Benefits page to find out more.

Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

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.

We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented in UCL's workforce. These include people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds; disabled people; LGBTQI+ people; and for our Grade 9 and 10 roles, women.

Our department holds an Athena SWAN Bronze award, in recognition of our commitment to advancing gender equality.