Open Positions

Job Reference: Space Chemist #1

Salary: £30 000 per annum (Negotiable based on work experience)

Hours: Full-time (Part-time may be possible)

Contract Type: Initially 1 year fixed-term (Renewal may be possible) 

Location: On-site, South-West England, UK

Company Background

NAICKER SCIENTIFIC is a cross-sector technology development micro-SME based in South-West England.

The company was incorporated in 2021, initially as a technical consultancy, supporting hardware technology start-ups research/design/build/test early proof-of-concept prototypes. 

We specialise in technical generalism - traversing the learning curve to develop new technology, in new technical fields, in a short timeframe. 

Our development projects have ranged from kitchen appliances to rocket engines.

This broad-spectrum delivery capability has gradually turned inwards, and multiple technology development projects have been initiated internally, allowing the company to evolve into an originator of technology innovations. 

Role

We are looking for a recent graduate or early-career chemist to support us develop technology with a "chemical processing in space" theme (e.g. In-Situ Resource Utilisation technology for the moon), as well as directly derived technologies for terrestrial applications. 

This R&D role would suit someone who has good command of the theoretical and experimental fundamentals of chemistry, enjoys working on more applied research and development, enjoys working on projects where the 'right approach' isn't known (because no one has done it before). 

As we are a small company just beginning to expand its operations, execution-level autonomy is an important productivity requirement i.e. you will be supported and guided by a senior chemist and the technical director, but you should be comfortable working autonomously to "fill in the blanks" on a day-to-day basis.

Key Responsibilities

• Spend approximately 70% of your time on laboratory work which is focused on the design and execution of experiment campaigns. 
• Spend approximately 30% of your time on desk work. This will include literature review, experiment planning, experiment campaign risk assessments, results report writing, supplier engagement regarding equipment and consumable procurement and external analytical services.  
• Collaborate with the engineering team to interpret and apply knowledge gained in experimental work to the design and development of product hardware.
• Plan and organise workflows, manage deadlines, and execute tasks according to a structured project plan.
• Write clear and well structured progress reports and experimental results reports.
• Work on multiple R&D projects in parallel, with continually changing priorities between these projects.

Key Requirements

• Bachelors degree in Chemistry (or closely related scientific field with sufficient chemistry content).
• Enthusiasm for absorbing new knowledge and skills in the field of chemistry
• Comfortable with the prospect of extending outside the comfort zone of a chemistry knowledge base, to at least the knowledge base of chemical engineering.
• Critical thinker, with a methodological and rigorous approach to laboratory experiments, data analysis and report writing.
• Proficiency in English
• Right to work in the UK 

Desirable Requirements

• Industry placements during degree
• Masters degree
• Wider breath of skills and knowledge, as our projects overlap traditional disciplines.
• Interest in space technology