Salary range: Up to £34,000 per annum (plus £4,000 training and development budget)

FTE: 1.0

Term: Fixed (24 months)

Closing date: 15 February 2024

The Department of Design, Manufacturing and Engineering Management (DMEM) (https://www.strath.ac.uk/engineering/designmanufacturingengineeringmanagement/) in partnership with Glenrath Farms. (http://www.glenrathfarms.co.uk/ ) is seeking to appoint a Knowledge Transfer Partnership Associate in the area of collaborative robotics, with a focus on the development of an intelligent collaborative robot system for smart farm manufacturing (iCoBOTS) that will advance the manufacturing implementation of collaborative robots (Cobots) to provide a bespoke, innovative and high-quality robotics solution.

Glenrath Farms is a family owned business that was established in 1959. They are based in the beautiful Scottish Borders and are one of the UK's leading egg production and marketing companies, producing over a million eggs a day. They produce Free Range, Organic, Barn and Enriched Colony eggs of which are compliant with UK and EU assurance schemes including Lion Quality, British Retail Consortium (BRC) and RSPCA Assured. Glenrath Farms are the world's largest free-range egg producer.

The KTP Associate will be employed by the University of Strathclyde, but will be based at the company premises in South of Penicuik - Leadburn, working directly with senior company staff, as well as receiving additional mentoring support from expert staff at the University of Strathclyde.

The position also offers the KTP Associate the following benefits:

• An exciting and rewarding job opportunity where you can apply your knowledge to turn a key strategic innovation idea in to reality.
• Opportunity of registering study for PhD degree with the University of Strathclyde if the Associate has not obtained one. (no cost while in post).
• Opportunity of a permanent position with the company; 70% of host companies make a permanent job offer to their Associate at the end of the project.
• £2,000 per year to spend on personal training. You’ll manage your own substantial training and development budget (you can also use this to attend conferences, cover membership of professional bodies etc.)
• Mentoring from experienced industrial and academic supervisors. You’ll ‘own’ your own project, linked to both a university and a business whose experienced teams will provide you with full support.
• developing and proving expertise and skills in the prospering fields of collaborative robotics.

The project is part of the Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) programme that aims to help businesses to innovate and grow by working with UK universities. Successful Knowledge Transfer Partnership projects are funded by UK Research and Innovation through Innovate UK and are part of the government’s Industrial Strategy. To find out how KTP works and the vital role you will play if you successfully secure a KTP Associate position please visit: www.ktpws.org.uk

To be considered for the role you will be educated to a minimum of MSc Degree level in Robotics/Mechatronics and Automation Systems with relevant industry experience in this area. You will be skilled in analysing, designing and developing robotic automation systems within a dynamic business/academic environment, have experience in the design and development of key robotic system modules and their system integration, experience of technical writing, preparation and delivery of user training, and some experience of working in industry such as manufacturing automation. You will be self-directed and self-motivated, with the ability to project management with guidance, as required, and you will have excellent communication skills with the ability to interact with a range of stakeholders and excellent skills with the ability to engage with others from both academia and industry.

Informal enquiries about the post can be directed to Dr Erfu Yang, Senior Lecturer (erfu.yang@strath.ac.uk / 0141 574 5279).

Formal interviews for this post will be held in March 2024.

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