RESEARCH ASSISTANT OR FELLOW IN PREDICTIVE MAINTENANCE OF AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS

Organisation
Cranfield University
Faculty or Department
Faculty of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Based at
Cranfield Campus, Cranfield, Bedfordshire
Hours of work
37 hours per week, normally worked Monday to Friday. Flexible working will be considered.
Contract type
Fixed term contract
Fixed Term Period
until 31 March 2027
Salary
Full time starting salary is normally in the range of £28,929 to £44,906 per annum
Posted Date
21/05/2025
Apply by
18/06/2025

ABOUT US

As a specialist postgraduate university, Cranfield’s world-class expertise, large-scale facilities and unrivalled industry partnerships are creating leaders in technology and management globally. Learn more about Cranfield and our unique impact here.
The Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science (FEAS) is a leading provider of postgraduate-level engineering education, research and technology support to individuals and organisations. At the forefront of aerospace, manufacturing and transport systems technology and management for over 70 years, we deliver multi-disciplinary solutions to the complex challenges facing the industry.
The Integrated Vehicle Health Management (IVHM) Centre is a joint effort by Industry and Academia to develop state of the art diagnostic and prognostic capabilities that change the way services are provided today. The IVHM Centre was launched by Cranfield University, Britain’s premier postgraduate, research intensive university together with Boeing, Rolls Royce, BAE Systems, Meggitt and Thales in 2008. It is located at Cranfield University’s Cranfield site. The Centre is now globally recognized, having defined the subject area and further developing new areas of expansion. The development of the Centre, along with other areas in the University, significantly contributed to the recent DARTeC (Digital Aviation Research and Technology Centre) proposal success. Through DARTeC, the IVHM Centre is leading the MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) developments and activities with expertise and capabilities in UAV-Robotics NDT inspections, SHM–sensor monitoring, and advanced digital technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Digital Twins (DT), tools that could be used to synchronize, monitor, and improve all processes related to Aircraft MRO.
Our intensely practical focus is supported by the people delivering our teaching and research. We work with both academics and industrialists and our team has first-hand experience in managing civil and military operations, safety regulation, accident investigation, design, and certification. This means our students get the benefit of their extensive real-world knowledge.

ABOUT THE ROLE

The purpose of this post is to support and deliver to an industry funded project led by a major aircraft design company. You will be responsible for undertaking high quality research associated with the Cranfield University project work package in AI-Enhanced Digital Twins and High-Level Reasoner Decision Support System for aircraft systems. You will integrate heterogeneous data streams (from multiple sources, such as sensory, physics model, etc.), flag impending failures, pinpoint and trace back the origin of system faults, and facilitate sensor optimization to achieve a robust and dependable condition monitoring, predictive maintenance, and prognostics and health management (PHM) regime for the aircraft systems over the entire period of their life-cycle. You will also be responsible for managing the research tasks, organising project meetings, writing project deliverables and coordinating research activities and will need excellent interpersonal skills.