TECHNOLOGY SCALE-UP MANAGER

Organisation
Cranfield University
Faculty or Department
Research and Innovation
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 2028
Salary
Full time starting salary is normally in the range of £48,039 to £57,797 per annum
Posted Date
07/07/2025
Apply by
27/07/2025

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 Research and Innovation Office (RIO) supports researchers in working together to achieve excellence and impact in delivering the University’s vision for research and innovation, and reports to the Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Research and Innovation.

ROLE DESCRIPTION

We welcome applications from passionate, skilled and committed individuals to join this exciting, collaborative project and help propel climate-positive technology-based companies to demonstration, commercialisation and growth.

ABOUT THE ROLE

The core purpose of this role is to use your diagnostic skills and expertise in manufacturing and technology scale-up processes to help accelerate the commercialisation of climate-tech innovation. This will be achieved by identifying and understanding the key barriers to scale-up of emerging technologies and enabling access to expertise and facilities across the UK that can help to overcome those barriers. For instance, EarthScale is a multi-regional, cross-institutional Research England Development funded project that involves 5 universities (led by Imperial College London); it is a programme that aims to transform innovative UK-based climate start-ups into world-leading scale-ups. Through this programme the post holder will work with advanced start-up companies that engage with EarthScale to understand and ‘triage’ their technical challenges in the scale-up process, provide recommendations on next steps and – where appropriate – connect them with the relevant facilities and expertise to enable progress towards commercialisation.
Whilst drawing on and leveraging the available knowledge-base support ecosystem (e.g. academic expertise), the postholder will thus apply their existing capabilities to diagnose issues within technical scale-up processes (e.g. formulation, materials, system integration, manufacturing) of novel climate innovations. The postholder will standardise this process and provide tailored support plans for each business. Once a technical diagnosis has been developed, the postholder will provide bespoke support to enable the next level of prototype development, manufacturing strategy, and/or trial set up, as needed by accelerator users. Examples of this include, but are not limited to, advanced hackspace, prototyping facilities, lab benches and access to specialist trial facilities.
You will ensure available project funding (e.g. innovation vouchers and other mechanisms), can be channelled to access specific academic expertise, facilities and spaces to advance technology. Wherever possible, this process of advancing technology and manufacturing readiness levels will stimulate pro bono support from ecosystem partners. The TSM will also assist with dissemination activities with, but not limited to, case studies, social media channels, leveraging networks, and recommendations on how Higher Education Institutions (HEI) can help IP development. This includes working with policy and advocacy community partners (e.g. Cleantech for UK, Start Up Coalition), so as to provide a voice for scale-up participants. You will support participants in accessing expertise to navigate certification and prevailing procurement laws.
With responsibility for meeting a set of KPIs linked to accelerator activities, you will thus undertake a wide range of activities from attracting and recruiting pan-UK innovators and helping to devise attractive opportunities for participants, to managing a portfolio of individual projects and delivering on reporting requirements. You will also be part of a reviewer panel for funded initiatives to help ensure the best initiatives are taken forward.