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Research Fellow

Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering

Location:  Boldrewood Campus
Salary:   £31,866
Full Time Fixed Term (18 months)
Closing Date:  Thursday 25 February 2021
Interview Date:   Wednesday 10 March 2021
Reference:  1331521DA

You will join our Astronautics Group, within the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. 

You will work on the development of electrospray thrusters for CubeSat propulsion, pushing the commercial development of the technology. The project, in collaboration with two small company’s, AVS UK and RHP Technology Austria, and with funding from Innovate UK, will work to develop an electrospray thruster based upon the previous work completed at Southampton on this novel CubeSat propulsion technology. Work at Southampton will focus on the design and testing of the electrospray thruster, with the manufacturing of the thruster components completed at the commercial collaborators. 

It is desirable you have experience in designing and testing ion thruster technology, preferably electrospray thrusters, a closely related technology such as ion beam experience, or a demonstrated aptitude for learning new fields of research. In addition, you will have a PhD or equivalent professional qualifications and experience in aerospace engineering, preferably with the field space propulsion, or experimental beam physics. It is desirable that you have experience of operating large vacuum chamber facilities A strong track record of high-quality journal publications would be advantageous.

Equality, diversity and Inclusion is central to the ethos in the School of Engineering. We particularly encourage women, Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME), LGBT and disabled applicants to apply for this position. In recognition of our continued commitment to improving equality for women in science we were awarded an Athena SWAN bronze in 2013 and 2016.   We give full consideration to applicants that wish to work flexibly including part-time and due consideration will be given to applicants who have taken a career break. The University has a generous maternity policy*, onsite childcare facilities

The University of Southampton is in the top 1% of world universities and in the top 10 of the UK’s research-intensive universities. The University of Southampton is committed to sustainability and being a globally responsible university and has recently been awarded the Platinum EcoAward.  Our vision is to embed the principles of sustainability into all aspects of our individual and collective work, integrating sustainable development into our business planning, policy-making, and professional activities.  This commits all of our staff and students to take responsibility for managing their activities to minimise harm to the environment, whether this through switching off non-essential electrical equipment or using the recycling facilities.

*subject to qualifying criteria

This post is offered on a full time, fixed term basis for 18 months.

Informal enquiries welcomed please contact C.N.Ryan@soton.ac.uk

Applications for Research Fellow positions will be considered from candidates who are working towards or nearing completion of a relevant PhD qualification.  The title of Research Fellow will be applied upon successful completion of the PhD.  Prior to the qualification being awarded the title of Senior Research Assistant will be given.

Application Procedure 

You should submit your completed online application form at https://jobs.soton.ac.uk. The application deadline will be midnight on the closing date stated above. If you need any assistance, please call Annabelle Trimm (Recruitment Team) on +44 (0) 23 8059 4043 or email recruitment@soton.ac.uk  Please quote reference 1331521DA on all correspondence. 

Further details:

• Job Description and Person Specification