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Vacancy Type/Job category

Management & Professional

Department

WMG

Salary

£37,000 per annum

Location

Berristow Ln, South Normanton, Alfreton DE55 2JJ

Vacancy Overview

Fixed-term contract for 30 months, 1.0 FTE.

Founded in 1969 Radius Systems Ltd. develops and manufactures innovative plastic pipeline solutions in for the gas industry and these solutions are now commonly used in the water, wastewater, energy & power, district heating and telecoms sectors. Their goal is to design the right solutions and the best products to help the customers overcome their pipeline construction challenges, to ensure their asset lasts a lifetime.

The Radius Group is an international market leader in engineered pipeline solutions employing over 600 skilled individuals, the Group operates from 6 plants in the UK, Austria, Poland, Latvia and China and exports to more than 50 countries worldwide. From the design and development of new infrastructure to the repair, renovation and rehabilitation of existing pipelines, Radius Group supports homes, businesses, and public services around the world daily. Their range of polyethylene pipe and fittings have been specifically developed to cater for the operational, environmental, and regulatory demands placed on pipeline networks.

Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) is a department of the University of Warwick that provides science, technology, and engineering research and development services to industry. After more than 40 years, WMG continues to deliver world-leading innovations across a range of sectors. WMG is part of the High-Value Manufacturing Catapult (HVMC), which supports manufacturers to commercialise new technology from research for industrial applications.

The Associate will bring specialist knowledge and skills to integrate new polymer scientific and processing techniques into the company’s co-extrusion processes, driven by the smart use of digital simulations and world-class materials testing facilities to develop cutting-edge pipe extrusion technologies for the gas, water and telecoms and a future hydrogen pipeline market.

Reporting to the project supervisor at Radius Systems Ltd. you will work as part of a dynamic engineering team to embed the new knowledge to the company across our global presence through training, paired working, and creation of documentation. WMG will provide specialised technical support and supervision to the Associate to ensure Radius Systems Ltd. is an industry leader driven by world class research.

About KTP

This post is part of the Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) initiative funded by Innovate UK. Knowledge Transfer Partnerships is a UK-wide programme that has been helping businesses for the past 40 years to improve their competitiveness and productivity through the better use of knowledge and skills that reside within the UK Knowledge Base.

Job Description

JOB PURPOSE

The Associate will bring specialist knowledge and skills to integrate new polymer scientific and processing techniques into the company’s co-extrusion processes, driven by the smart use of digital simulations and world-class materials testing facilities to develop cutting-edge pipe extrusion technologies for the gas, water and telecoms and a future hydrogen pipeline market.




DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

As a Plastics Processing Scientist you will:

1. Receive coaching and mentoring to enable you to complete assignments and projects to develop your learning and skillset.

2. Build your network with internal stakeholders, team members, and other global leaders across Radius Systems and WMG.

3. Plan, execute, and manage the KTP project working closely with Radius Systems and WMG staff.

4. Transfer knowledge and train the Radius engineering team to properly utilise the digital tools created during the project.

5. Contribute to the preparation of reporting material for the project Steering Committee and support day-to-day project management tasks.

6. Define a personal development plan with the help of Radius Systems and WMG University staff, and attend all necessary KTP-related courses, events, management, and reporting meetings as and when necessary.

7. Deliver customer outcomes and implement process improvements.

8. Be the thought/subject leader in Radius Systems on polymer materials science, characterisation and processing technologies

9. Working closely with Radius Systems engineering team, identify and detail, key characteristics of process and materials that encourage bonding or failure to adhere multilayer polyethylene type materials used in extruded pipes.

10. Using CAE to create a simulation model to predict polymer flow of a thermoplastic pipeline through extrusion.

11. Use world class materials and product testing facilities at WMG to test and understand the thermal polymer processing and the effect on the final product.

12. Implement strong engineering controls, and process steps to ensure repeatable material processing.

13. Research in-process inspection methods and align autonomous controls to ensure compliant cohesion, develop robust processing and reduced material waste at Radius Systems.

Essential Criteria 1

Postgraduate qualified (or graduate with honours 2:1 or above, plus relevant industrial experience) in engineering (polymer science, plastics processing, manufacturing), chemistry, materials science, or related fields. (a)

Essential Criteria 2

Demonstrable knowledge in polymer/thermoplastic materials testing and characterisation, and interpretation of analytical results. (a, c, d)

Essential Criteria 3

Able to use several polymer analytical equipment, such as DSC, Rheometry, FTIR, TGA, DMTA, Charpy, Izod, HDT, Vicat and Microscopy. (a, c, d)

Essential Criteria 4

Good knowledge and understanding of plastics processing technologies at an industrial scale, knowledge of thermoplastic materials (ideally PE & PP), rheology and the effect of polymer grade and processing conditions on material properties. (a, c, d)

Essential Criteria 5

Experience in the use of digital simulation tools to model plastics extrusion processes, software tools such as Solidworks Simulation or Ansys Polyflow. (a, c, d)

Essential Criteria 6

Experience in conducting root cause analysis and analysing technical data derived from experimentation. (a, c, d)

Essential Criteria 7

Excellent computer literacy with advanced knowledge of Excel, Origin and/or Matlab. (a, c, d)

Essential Criteria 8

Ability to work alone and as part of a multi-disciplinary team in a busy, high-pressure manufacturing environment. (a, c)

Essential Criteria 9

Substantial, demonstrable technical skills including the ability to rapidly adapt and learn new skills. (a, c)

Essential Criteria 10

Ability to initiate, plan, organise, implement, and deliver programmes of work to tight deadlines, together with the ability to report effectively on progress against plan. (a, c)

Essential Criteria 11

Working with allocated budgets and purchasing regulations for acquisition. (a, c)

Essential Criteria 12

Excellent interpersonal and analytical skills. Ability to work with senior management staff, understanding of technology to a level that commands the respect of senior managers in industry and enables a discussion with academic specialists. (a, c, d)

Essential Criteria 13

Excellent communication skills (both written and oral) including the ability to present technical solutions to a varied audience, with a patient approach to knowledge transfer activities. (a, c, d)

Essential Criteria 14

Fluent in written and spoken English. (a, c, d)

Desirable Criteria 1

PhD in materials science (Applied Chemistry, Polymer Processing, Manufacturing) or similar PhD level degree in a related field. (a)

Desirable Criteria 2

Good knowledge and experience with plastic extrusion processes. (a, c, d)

Desirable Criteria 3

Industrial experience in engineering and production environments, ideally leading industrial research and development. (a, c)

Desirable Criteria 4

The ability or potential to publish high quality work. (a, c)

Further Particulars

This post is part of the Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) initiative funded by Innovate UK. Knowledge Transfer Partnerships is a UK-wide programme that has been helping businesses for the past 40 years to improve their competitiveness and productivity through the better use of knowledge, technology and skills that reside within the UK Knowledge Base. If you want to apply your degree and experience, start a “real job” straight away and gain a professional qualification, then a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) is what you are looking for. For further information visit this link

For further information about the University of Warwick, please read our University Further Particulars.

For further information about the department, please visit the departmental website.

Warwick is committed to building an organisation of mutual respect and dignity, promoting a welcoming, diverse, and inclusive working and learning environment. We recognise that everyone is different in a variety of visible and non-visible ways, and that those differences are to be recognised, respected, and valued. Where possible, we go beyond legislation to provide a place where everyone can thrive, supporting all staff to achieve their full potential. We aspire to remove economic, social and cultural barriers that may otherwise prevent people from succeeding.

We therefore welcome and encourage applications from all communities regardless of culture, background, age, disability, sex/gender, gender identity or expression, ethnicity, religion/belief, or sexual or romantic orientation. To find out more about our social inclusion work at Warwick visit our webpages here.

The University of Warwick holds an Athena SWAN Silver award; a national initiative to promote gender equality for all staff and students. Further information about the work of the University in relation to Athena SWAN can be found at the following link: Athena Swan (warwick.ac.uk)

The University of Warwick is one of the six founder institutions of the EUTOPIA European University alliance, whose aim is to become by 2025 an open, multicultural, confederated operation of connected campuses.

Right to work in the UK
If you do not yet have the right to work in the UK and/or are seeking sponsorship for a Skilled Worker visa in the UK points-based immigration system please click on this link which contains further information about obtaining right to work in the UK and details about eligibility for sponsorship for a Skilled Worker Visa.

Benefits and Rewards

Please refer to this link for a full list of our employee benefits here at Warwick here.

Closing Date

18 Jul 2023