King's College London

About us

The positions will be based in the Engineering Department at King’s College London. The recently re-founded Department is rapidly expanding into a world-class research and teaching department. It consists of new state-of-the-art lab facilities located in the heart of London.

We are a dynamic Department with a diverse team of academics, PDRAs, and PhDs across engineering disciplines who work in a collaborative environment.

About the role

We are looking to appoint two full-time (1.0 FTE) Research Associates to work for the next 2 to 3 years at the interface of experimental and computational mechanics of advanced alloys/materials through understanding microstructure and the effects of manufacturing and service conditions on performance.

These are full-time posts, and you will be offered a fixed term 24-month and 36-month contract.

At King’s, you will be part of a growing activity in advanced materials in the Department of Engineering under the supervision of Professor Barbara Shollock FREng. Our group is focused on carrying out experimental and computational research in materials across a range of sectors. Our interests range from developing better understanding of new and existing alloys and functional materials to understanding the fundamentals impacting their manufacture and performance. Our motivation is to improve and optimise materials and processes.

The research in these projects at King’s aims at creating a better understanding and prediction of materials performance. The project will study materials across different scales to help understand the key factors in their performance in service.

You will have the opportunity to participate in Researcher Development activities at King’s as appropriate (please see Centre for Research Staff Development | King's College London)

You will also support Masters and/or PhD students and contribute to a positive group environment.

There are two full-time roles available, one for 24-months and the second for 36-months.

About you

To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience:

Essential criteria

1.       PhD in Materials, Mechanical Engineering or in an area related to materials*.

2.       Good knowledge and research experience in materials and/or mechanics of materials.

3.       Publications in relevant engineering peer-reviewed journals.

4.       Proficiency in one or more: crystal plasticity modelling/advanced characterization/modelling of environmentally induced changes

Desirable criteria

1.      Experience of supervising/supporting Masters and/or PhD students

2.      Experience in modelling solid state phase transformations

3.      Knowledge of materials degradation processes, particularly related to environment

Downloading a copy of our Job Description

Full details of the role and the skills, knowledge and experience required can be found in the Job Description document, provided at the bottom of the next page after you click “Apply Now”. This document will provide information of what criteria will be assessed at each stage of the recruitment process.

* Please note that this is a PhD level role but candidates who have submitted their thesis and are awaiting award of their PhDs will be considered. In these circumstances the appointment will be made at Grade 5, spine point 30 with the title of Research Assistant. Upon confirmation of the award of the PhD, the job title will become Research Associate and the salary will increase to Grade 6.

Further Information

At King’s, we believe that the diversity of our community and a culture that is welcoming, open, inclusive and collaborative, are great strengths of the university.

The Equality Act of 2010 protects the rights of our students and staff and provides a framework to fulfil our duties to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and in addition, to advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between those who share a protected characteristic and those who do not. At times, this will include balancing rights and beliefs that can feel in tension.

We are committed to free speech and to academic freedom, believing that our foundational purpose as a university, is to create spaces where a wide range of ideas, including ideas that are controversial, can be discussed and debated, and where members of our community can express lawful views without fear of intimidation, harassment or discrimination.

When engaging in the robust exchange of ideas, we ask that our community is mindful of our Dignity at King’s guidance.

We ask all candidates to submit a copy of their CV, and a supporting statement, detailing how they meet the essential criteria listed in the person specification section of the job description. If we receive a strong field of candidates, we may use the desirable criteria to choose our final shortlist, so please include your evidence against these where possible.

We reserve the right to close adverts early due to the volume of applications we receive. While the closing date may change, all adverts will close at 23:59 to allow sufficient time for applications to be submitted on that day.

We encourage you to apply at the earliest opportunity to avoid disappointment as once we have closed a vacancy you will be unable to submit your application.

To find out how our managers will review your application, please take a look at our ‘How we Recruit’ pages.