KTP Associate

at  Heriot Watt University

Salary: £41,329
Contract Type: Full Time (37.5 hours per week), Fixed Term (2 years)
Rewards and Benefits: 34.5 days (inclusive of statutory/public holidays)

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This collaborative Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) will develop a system which utilises immobilised enzymes and continuous flow chemistry to provide rapid biodegradation testing for polymers in liquid formulation (PLFs). The Successful appointee will lead the project, demonstrating strong creative and independent research skills.
During the project, a first-of-its-kind system for accelerated biodegradation testing of PLFs will be designed, developed, and validated. The successful appointee will exploit knowledge in enzymatic degradation of polymers, combined with state-of-the-art flow chemistry facilities to assess the biodegradation of polymer products, in particular PLFs. The final product will is aimed to revolutionise biodegradation testing and will bring significant environmental and commercial benefits.
This full-time position is funded by Impact Solutions and InnovateUK. The successful appointee will be based at Impact Laboratories facility at Livingston, UK. The project will involve working closely with academic experts at Heriot-Watt University to transfer knowledge to the business (Impact Solutions) (this is not an academic research project).
Impact Solutions (IS)
The successful appointee will be based at Impact Laboratories and will work closely with researchers at Heriot-Watt University.
IS has over 25 years’ experience in the testing and development of sustainable process technology. As a UKAS accredited test laboratory, Impact is a market leader for testing across a range of industries from automotive and aerospace through to life sciences, packaging and recycling. Impact has a global client base working throughout the supply chain from material manufacturers through to products developers and manufacturers.
The company has extensive experience in process development, in particular for recycling and biotechnology where new plastic recycling technologies have been successfully commercialised. IS works in close collaboration with universities, SMEs and large OEMs to develop and commercialise new products and processes and has demonstrated excellent success by spinning out and developing new companies.
Our new state of the art facility in Livingston, Scotland is unique as it hosts one of the largest accelerated weathering laboratories in the UK, along with biodegradability testing facilities and a wide range of analytical equipment. IS has produced more than 6 million hours of testing data in polymer analysis under the umbrella of polymer recycling.
As the Scottish Plastic Recycling Centre of Excellence, IS has also developed several novel recycling technologies leading to two successful spin out companies (Impact Recycling and Reventas). In 2017 Impact were awarded a certificate of excellence for recycling innovation from the European Commission : (H2020) Waste to Value and subsequently developed and licensed a novel solvent based recycling technology in a strategic partnership with a Top 5 Petrochemical giant.

The successful candidate will:

• Conduct and manage the research project on biodegradation testing for PLFs.
• Work closely with the supervisory team, to develop and plan research objectives.
• Report directly to the senior management team; good presentation and communication skills are therefore essential. Presentations are also anticipated to clients and customers of the company in various locations, which will require strong communication and interpersonal skills.
• Build appropriate networks within and outside the team.
• Where needed, travel to the collaboration partners, Heriot-Watt University to carry out research and/or attend meetings presentations etc.
• Write and support the publishing of research reports, conference, and indexed journal papers in line with project requirements.
• Support the dissemination of outputs and contribute to technical workshops, seminars, and conferences as appropriate.
• Support public engagement activities through web-based and social media-based methods as appropriate.
• Ensure that all data collection undertaken as part of the project is done so ethically and in line with UK (GDPR) privacy and data protection policies, and in compliance with the requirements of the funder.
• Undertake training activities as necessary and agreed with the supervisory team to deliver on the project aims and objectives and to further career development.