Job Description

• School of Engineering, College of Science & Engineering
• Grade: UE06
• Salary Range: £31,396.00 – £36,024.00
• Contract type: Open ended
• Hours per week: 35 hours (full time; Mon-Fri, 09:00-17:00)
• Number of posts: 1

The Opportunity

The School of Engineering is seeking to appoint a versatile and experienced Engineering Technician, with significant mechanical fitting and assembly experience, to join its skilled Technical Services team of over 40 technical staff. The appointee will be primarily responsible for delivery of mechanical fitting services and support to the huge variety of research activity within the School. The post-holder will contribute to the safe and efficient running of laboratory and workshop areas, including through routine servicing and maintenance of equipment, installation of high and low pressure pipework, Health & Safety implementation within labs, and the transfer of knowledge and practical skills to undergraduate and postgraduate students as well as staff (including, technicians and modern apprentices).

The School’s mechanical workshops support teaching and research, as well as the activities of student innovation groups (including, FormulaStudent, HypED and endeavour). Equipment in the workshops includes: fibre laser cutter, hydraulic guillotine, CNC press brake, vertical panel saw, band saw, MIG and TIG plants, CNC plasma cutter, jigging tables, micro-TIG, handheld plasma cutter and conventional and CNC machines (lathes and mills). The Carbon Capture Research Laboratories, which is a key area of work for the post holder, form a hybrid wet chemistry/mechanical workspace running a variety of experiments relating to the capture and storage of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The Labs host a range of equipment including ducted fume cupboards for chemical synthesis, bespoke experimental rigs and analytical instruments for analysis of materials. In this workspace the post-holder will encounter both chemical and physical safety hazards. The successful candidate should therefore demonstrate good H&S awareness and familiarity with H&S documentation (e.g., risk assessments, COSHH). It is not expected for the post holder to be familiar with all of the equipment and apparatus listed above, but they should be eager and willing to learn. An interest in knowledge transfer and the Continuous Professional Development of themselves and others would be beneficial.

With extensive work experience in a mechanical manufacturing, process or chemical engineering environment and with qualifications in a relevant engineering discipline (e.g., recognised apprenticeship, S/NVQ, O/HNC) the post holder will have proven mechanical fitting abilities. Given the scope of the role, previous experience working in a power plant or similar facility would be advantageous. A varied skillset is desirable which might include: fabrication, thermal joining, pipe fitting, machining, analytical instrumentation and technical drawing/CAD skills.

The role is customer facing and the School is a diverse and international community of staff and students. The post holder will therefore have excellent interpersonal and communication skills and a strong commitment to service delivery.

This is a full-time, open-ended position.

The School of Engineering is committed to inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility and we are particularly interested in hearing from candidates from under-represented groups. Please contact Sally Morgan (SoE Technical Services Manager; tsm@eng.ed.ac.uk) if you would like to discuss the role informally.

A full list of main responsibilities and the knowledge, skills and experience required for the role can be found in the full job description.

Your skills and attributes for success:

• Passion for engineering
• Excellent mechanical fitting and assembly skills and experience
• Proven technical fault-finding and problem solving skills
• Good understanding of health & safety regulations and procedures in a laboratory/workshop environment(including COSHH)
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills

Applicants should include a cover letter, explaining how they fulfil each of the essential criteria listed under ‘Knowledge, skills and experience’, and an up-to-date CV with their application.