Salary Range: £37,694 - £46,049
FTE: 1 (35 hours/week)
Term: Fixed Term (24 months)
Closing Date: 12/07/2026
This position is part of the EPSRC Manufacturing Research Hub in Resource-Enabled Sustainable Circular Automation
Manufacturing (RESCU-M2), which involves 7 UK research institutions and 35 stakeholder organisations. The 7-year
duration project aims to make the UK world leading in circular manufacturing by creating a manufacturing ecosystem for
circular resource use of high value products through the unlocking of advances in AI, Robotics and Intelligent Automation.
This particular post is concerned with delivering innovations to enable the design of products with minimal life cycle
impacts. It will explore the application of emerging technologies such as Chatbots to enable effective decision towards this
aim. It will also assist in the development of circular business models.
Understanding of sustainability and appreciation of strategies such as Re-X processes (repair, reconditioning,
remanufacturing etc) and their potential impacts on sustainability and the circular economy (CE) is required. Ability to
work effectively individually and in teams with a wide range of interdisciplinary stakeholders from industry and academia is
required. Proven effective communication skills both written and oral are also required. Understanding and use of
emerging technologies is required as the post will require expertise in environmental impacts assessment and
development of an AI tools.
As a Research Associate, under the general guidance of a research leader, you will develop research objectives and
proposals, play a lead role in relation to a specific project/s or part of a broader project, conduct individual and/or
collaborative research, contribute to the development of new research methods, identify sources of funding, and
contribute to the securing of funds for research, including drafting grant proposals and planning for future proposals. You
will write up research work for publication, individually or in collaboration with colleagues, and disseminate the results via
peer reviewed journal publications and presentation at conferences. You will join external networks to share information
and ideas, inform the development of research objectives and to identify potential sources of funding. You will collaborate
with colleagues to ensure that research advances inform departmental teaching effort and you will collaborate with
colleagues on the development of knowledge exchange activities by, for example, participating in initiatives which establish
research links with industry and influence public policy and the professions. You will supervise student projects, provide
advice to students and contribute to teaching as required by, for example, running tutorials and supervising practical
work. You will contribute in a developing capacity to Department/School, Faculty and/or University administrative and
management functions and committees and engage in continuous professional development.
You will have sufficient breadth or depth of knowledge in sustainable manufacturing and ability to conduct individual
research work, to disseminate results, and to prepare research proposals. You will have ability to plan and organise your
own workload effectively and also work within a team environment. You will have excellent interpersonal and
communication skills, with the ability to listen, engage and persuade, and to present complex information in an accessible
way to a range of audiences. Capability for academic writing, experience of student supervision and teaching activities is
required for this post.
Whilst not essential for the role, applications are welcomed from candidates with relevant membership of
Chartered/professional bodies (including the Higher Education Academy) and relevant work experience and/or
experience of knowledge exchange related activities.
Formal interviews for this post will be held in July 2026.
Informal enquiries about the post can be directed to Winifred Ijomah, Professor ([email protected]).
