UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM
RECRUITMENT ROLE PROFILE FORM

Job Title:Research Associate/Fellow in Fuel Cell Reliability Modelling

School/Department:Nottingham Transportation Engineering Centre (NTEC), Division of Infrastructure and Geomatics

Salary:£25,513 to £37,394 per annum, depending on skills and experience (minimum £28,695 with relevant PhD). Salary progression beyond this scale is subject to performance

Job Family and Level:Research Teaching Level 4CTG /Level 4

Contract Status:This post is available now and will be offered on

a fixed-term contract until 31 October 2017.

Hours of Work:36.25 hours per week,Full time

Location:University Park, NTEC Building

Reporting to:Prof John Andrews

Purpose of the New Role:

To undertake system reliability modelling and system design optimisation for the RESILIENCE Project.

Main Responsibilities / % time per year
1. / To initiate and undertake research on the design and development of a fuel cell system and its associated asset management strategy. This will include the tasks of: establishing component failure models, making reliability and availability predictions of the fuels cell support systems, optimising the system level models to establish the ‘best’ system designs and asset management strategy. / 60%
2. / Writing of research reports and papers in order to disseminate research results and develop a track record of published research findings with the industrial partner and in internationally-respected peer-reviewed journals where suitable. / 10%
3. / Further dissemination of results through invited oral and poster presentations at meetings with industrial and research partners, but also in academic circles where suitable. / 10%
4. / Research Supervision. As a member of the research group, supervise postgraduate students, regularly liaising with researchers and final year undergraduate students in the team. Responsible for training of new researchers and support in ensuring that project objectives are achieved. / 5%
5. / Industrial Support/Project Management. Maintain regular contact with industrial sponsors and respond to enquiries. Attend meetings at sponsors sites as required. / 15%
6. / Any other duties appropriate to the grade and role.

Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications & Experience

Essential / Desirable
Qualifications/ Education / Degree or equivalentin Engineering or Mathematics.
A PhD or equivalent (or about to obtain) or equivalent relevant experience in engineering, applied mathematics or a related subject area, with a major component being on thedevelopment and solution of mathematical models of engineering failures and maintenance
Skills/Training / Good numerical analysis background.
Proven ICT skills – word-processing and presentations.
Proven ability in code development in a programming language such as C. / Knowledge of fuel cell systems.
System reliability modelling skills accounting for component failures and their maintenance processes
Practical knowledge of reliability applied to real industrial systems
MS-Word, Excel, and Powerpoint.
Experience / Experience of solving system reliability problems
Experience in Optimisation methods
Experience of report writing and publication of research results in leading journals and conferences. / Fast solution methods for Petri nets models
Genetic Algorithms.
Grant proposal (writing of).
Personal attributes / Good interpersonal skills.
Good organisation skills.
Good written and verbal communication skills.
Good team working.
Ability to take initiative. / Self-motivating and ability to work with minimum supervision.
Ability to take initiative.
Ability to lead, teach & mentor young students.

Decision Making

i)taken independently by the role holder

  • Direction of research on a day-to-day basis
  • Modelling strategy in between review meetings & performance of the necessary simulations
  • Advice on modelling approach

ii)taken in collaboration with others

  • Direction of students and research collaborators
  • Investigations and decisions about major modelling efforts
  • Strategy for long term research programme.
  • Publication decisions, papers and conference abstracts.

iii)referred to the appropriate line manager (Prof John Andrews) by the role holder

  • Interactions with the industrial partner
  • Wider research strategy

Scope of the Role

The post will be based in the Nottingham Transportation Engineering Centre (NTEC). The post holder will work as a Research Associate/Fellow in collaboration with other research and support staff within NTEC, reporting to Prof. John Andrews. The role requires frequent interaction with the SUPERGEN Co-investigators from Loughborough University and Intelligent Energy.

Due to the requirements of the UK Border and Immigration Agency, applicants who are not UK or EEA nationals and whose immigration status entitles them to work without restriction in the UK will be considered on an equal basis with UK and EEA nationals. Other non-UK or non-EEA nationals whose employment will require permission to work subject to a resident labour market test may only be considered if there are no suitable UK or EEA national candidates for the post. Please visit for more information.

Informal enquiries may be addressed to Prof John Andrews tel: 0115 84 68448 or email . Please note that applications sent directly to this email address will not be accepted.