Join the innovation leaders in clean growth in the UK and internationally, in our new cross-institutional Innovation Centre working in bio-based feedstocks, sustainable chemical production systems and sustainable engineering materials and plastics.

This is an exciting opportunity for highly motivated postdoctoral researchers with a keen interest in translational research. 

About us:

Working with the Universities of Bath and Oxford and its core partners - the High Value Manufacturing Catapult’s National Composites Centre (NCC) and Centre for Process Innovation (CPI) – you will have the opportunity to collaborate with a dynamic partnership of over 45 spin-outs, high growth SMEs and multinational corporates to deliver sustainable and circular chemical process-based research and innovation projects.

The £17M Innovation Centre for Applied and Sustainable Technologies (iCAST) is a new, unique innovation facility hosted by the Centre for Sustainable and Circular Technologies (CSCT) at Bath. Its purpose is to kick-start a step-change in the UK industrial strategy for translating sustainable chemical technologies into clean growth. Its ambition is to be the go-to place for companies working on clean growth technologies to easily invest in R&D and to partner with critical mass academic strength to enable them to scaleup, deliver innovation commercially and deliver economic impact, build supply chains, jobs and green growth in the UK and overseas.

About the role:

As a Research Associate and Core Technology Translator in Circular Plastics, this role offers an exciting opportunity to be part of a large vibrant inter-disciplinary team responsible for delivering the technical elements of the iCAST innovation programme with partners, end users and customers. You will be engaged in delivering the technical aspect of the Circular Plastics and Sustainable Polymers Core Programme of iCAST, specific to this position, under the supervision of Dr Antoine Buchard (University of Bath) and Prof Clive Siviour (University of Oxford).

As part of this research programme, you will work with the plastic industry to identify current capability gaps in the properties and environmental impacts of plastics materials – specifically biobased, recyclable and degradable polymers. You will seek to understand how to fill these gaps by, for example, exploring and exploiting structure-property relationships and developing new sustainable composite materials.

About you:

You will hold (or about to hold) a PhD Degree or equivalent, with relevant experience in areas relevant to the ‘Circular Plastics and Sustainable Polymers’ Core Programme, including organic synthesis, catalysis, polymerisation methods, polymer and material characterisation techniques. You will be passionate about sustainability and aware of the latest developments in the field of sustainable materials, business-minded with the ability to take risks and develop your own creative solutions towards research and innovation.

This role requires excellent technical, organisational and presentation skills as well as the ability to work well in an interdisciplinary environment

Further information:

This is a full-time position for a fixed-term period, with an expected end date of 30 September 2024.

For any informal discussions please contact Antoine Buchard (Core Programme Lead) on apb46@bath.ac.uk .

What we can offer you:

We are an equal opportunities employer and have an excellent international reputation with staff from over 60 different nations. We have made a positive commitment towards gender equality and intersectionality receiving a Silver Athena SWAN award. 

A family-friendly University with an increasingly agile workforce, we are open to flexible working arrangements. We’re also proud to be a disability confident leader and are happy to discuss any reasonable adjustments you may require. 

We offer:

• a very generous employer contributory pension scheme;
• generous annual leave allowance with an additional 5 discretionary days so that you can enjoy a positive work life balance;
• an excellent reward package that recognises the talents of our diverse workforce; 
• a wide range of personal and professional development opportunities.

Our campus is surrounded by beautiful countryside, and the City of Bath with its historic charm and social activity only a short distance away creates an excellent environment in which to work. Find out from our staff what makes the University of Bath a great place to work. Follow us @UniofBath and @UniofBathJobs on Twitter for more information.

We aim to be an inclusive university, where difference is celebrated, respected and encouraged. We truly believe that diversity of experience, perspectives, and backgrounds leads to a better environment for our employees and students, creating a learning environment and organisational culture that enhances health and wellbeing across our community. We are very proud to have recently received Ambassadors for Autism certification and are an accredited Disability Confident Leader; committed to building disability confidence and supporting disabled staff.

Further details:

• Job Description & Person Specification