Technical Specialist; Electron Microscopy School of Metallurgy and Materials 104123 Grade 7

Location:

University of Birmingham Edgbaston Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range 36636 to 46049 with potential progression once in post to 48822

Grade: 7

Full Time Permanent

The Facility for Electron Microscopy (FEM) is based within the School of Metallurgy and Materials and supports and provides access to state‑of‑the‑art equipment for more than 70 research groups across 3 Colleges at the University of Birmingham (Engineering & Physical Sciences; Life & Environmental Sciences; and the College of Medicine & Health) as well as to more than 20 external academic and industrial sites.

FEM has over 200 individual users who we support to use our suite of ten electron microscopes, including three Transmission Electron Microscopes (TEM). Other services provided include sample preparation, coating and cleaning, and specimen sectioning on ultramicrotomes.

The post holder will be a technical specialist for Electron Microscopy, in particular TEM, to provide technical expertise, support and guidance to users in the FEM to strengthen the service we offer. The post holder will support the FEM and its users through operation and maintenance of Electron Microscopes, sample preparation activities, training and supervision of users.

As a member of the technical team the post holder will assist in maintaining the FEM and its lab, which includes equipment such as scanning electron microscopes, transmission electron microscopes, micro‑CT systems, and ultramicrotomes, coating machines, and other sample preparation equipment.

The post holder will work closely with research staff and PhD students from the University of Birmingham as well as external universities and industrial and commercial contacts.

The post holder will not be carrying out their own research but will contribute to the success of research within the university through training and technical support. Where training is not feasible the post holder will operate the equipment to generate high‑quality data and images for both internal and external customers.

The post holder will contribute to safe operation of relevant equipment and services by ensuring that safety documents are updated and being followed by users and any statutory inspections are carried out. This will include safety systems for compressed air/gas, vacuum, pressure, cryogenics, cooling, ionising radiation and laser. The post holder will also perform duties associated with keeping the buildings safe and operational as advised by the Technical Manager and Building Superintendent.

The post holder will be line managed by the FEM Manager in the School of Metallurgy and Materials. The post holder will supervise and line‑manage other technical staff.

The post holder will be required to lead on daily, weekly and monthly tasks without daily supervision and to lead on projects with medium to longer‑term horizons. They may be involved in monitoring research and will be able to research, modify and adapt protocols after consulting relevant senior staff.

The post holder will need an in‑depth understanding of the research questions, techniques and experimental design, and will be able to use their knowledge and experience to advise on procedures, diagnose and resolve problems and proactively suggest solutions to issues. The post holder may need to operate outside normal working hours to accommodate experimental procedures.

The successful candidate will be expected to line‑manage, supervise and mentor Technical Staff as well as providing guidance to Postgraduate Students and Post‑Doctoral Researchers and will provide necessary information to ensure compliance with local standard operating procedures and all Health and Safety policies.

• Support the FEM and its users through specialist operation and maintenance of transmission electron microscopes and the related sample preparation.
• Line‑manage other members of technical staff.
• Assist in managing the laboratory areas including Health & Safety responsibilities.
• Use knowledge of methods and procedures to advise on experimental techniques being used by researchers and/or communicate with colleagues at a range…