Company description: Fantastic challenges. Amazing opportunities. GKN Aerospace is reimagining air travel: going further, faster and greener! Fuelled by great people whose expertise and creativity sets the standards in our industry, were inspired by the opportunities to innovate and break boundaries. Were proud to play a part in protecting the worlds democracies. And were committed to putting sustainability at the centre of everything we do, opening up and protecting our planet. With over 16,000 employees globally, across 33 manufacturing sites in 12 countries we serve over 90% of the worlds aircraft and engine manufacturers. There are no limits to where you can take your career. Job description: Job Summary Together We Rise Its great to know youre making a difference to the future of aviation! Whatever part you play youll be helping us deliver operational excellence to our customers. Based at our Luton manufacturing plant youll do just that. Established in 1993, GKN Aerospace in Luton is a world leader in commercial and military ice protection systems and transparencies. Offering a full range of capabilities; design, analysis, testing, certification and manufacture of electro-thermal ice protection, military fast jet canopies and flight deck windows to over 20 programmes including: Boeing 787, Dreamliner, AgustaWestland, AW101, Eurofighter Typhoon and Lockheed, Martin F-22 Raptor. Our customers include Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Bell Helicopters, Textron, BAE Systems, Pratt & Whitney, Leonardo. Our Luton site is home to 370 employees and onsite facilities including onsite parking, food hub and vending machines. The Luton Engineering & Technology team is focussed on developing product and manufacturing process technology related to aircraft ice protection systems, transparencies and coatings, and specialist structures for both civil and defence applications. Were looking for a Senior Research Specialist to join our coatings development team, based at our Luton Manufacturing site to support the development of next generation high performance inorganic thin film coatings and coating deposition processes. As a Senior Research Specialist, youll bring your specialist knowledge in thin film coatings and processes to deliver high-impact research and development across Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) 17. Youll be responsible for ensuring that all research outputs are technically robust, innovative, and aligned with our broader engineering and sustainability goals. You will also be responsible for providing specialist support to existing programmes within your field of expertise, helping to resolve manufacturing issues and supporting continuous improvement efforts. You will have a proven track record of leading and delivering technical work, including experience of working with formal project management processes including budgeting, schedule and risk management. With strong communication skills, youll be confident working with a broad range of internal and external stakeholders, including non-technical audiences. You're likely building a professional network and are passionate about keeping pace with developments in your field. As this is a research role we are looking for a hands on innovative thinker, your work should push the boundaries of conventional coating technologies, application and evaluation/testing techniques. Core operational hours at our Luton site are: 07:30 - 16:30 Monday to Thursday & 07:30 - 12:30 Friday. Job Responsibilities Responsible for the planning and technical delivery of allocated projects and work packages ensuring the research objectives have been satisfied. Plan, coordinate and lead any necessary 'hands on' development test work and development trials that are required to meet your delivery objectives ensuring all relevant safe systems of work are satisfied. Seek to understand and contribute to the strategic direction of the target products or manufacturing process technologies being developed within your technology field Develop and invest time in operations relationships in order to understand real manufacturing issues and therefore better understand how appropriate certain technologies will be and the journey the site would need to go through for successful technology adoption. Contribute to Technology Development Plans and Technology Business Cases within your projects and technology field. Contribute to stakeholder management with internal/external customers, and you may lead management of supply chain partners in some cases. Ensure EHS policy and process adherence for your activities, and you will contribute to a proactive EHS culture in the wider team. Profile description: What You'll Bring To help us make a difference, youll bring your passion and talent for what you do along with the following skills, experience, qualifications and attributes: Essential: A relevant, accredited Chemistry / Physics / Materials based degree Knowledge / Experience of thin film coating development, application technology and materials testing techniques. Experience of test/experimental design, and practical execution in laboratory or test facility conditions to defined standards. Ability to understand customer requirements, or support the generation of performance requirements by interpreting operational needs and convert these to appropriate product characteristics. Ability to plan work through formal project management processes, including scheduling and budgeting and lead a team to ensure successful delivery of required outcomes. Strong report writing and presentation skills. A logical and methodical approach to problem-solving. Strong technical background and academic grounding, with industrial experience enabling you to work across short, medium and long term technology horizons. Desirable: A higher degree qualification such as a Masters, PhD or EngD in relevant subject. An awareness of aerospace certification requirements. The position requires UK National Security Vetting (UKNSV) Security clearance (SC) due to the nature and responsibilities of the work carried out. In order for us to obtain an SC you usually need to have been resident in the UK for a minimum of 5 years to current date (but we do assess each case individually). The successful candidate should have a broad interest in Aerospace engineering with an understanding of inorganic thin film technologies & processing techniques, ideally from an industrial setting, and with technical experience of working within a laboratory environment. Knowledge of coating material properties, multi-layer design and modelling approaches, deposition equipment (including vacuum systems), deposition process control, and testing and analysis techniques will be required to be successful in this role; however training can be delivered where there are gaps for the right candidate. Your proactive nature will enable you to understand and adapt to new technology areas quickly. Your good communication skills shall enable you to confidently engage with a wide variety of internal and external stakeholders. The successful candidate should be adaptable in their approach to work, and be willing to understudy other team members in their areas of expertise to ensure project objectives are met. As a Senior Research Engineer, you will be naturally curious and seek to increase/deepen own technical knowledge through study, collaborative working, hypothesis testing and experimentation. We offer: What We'll Offer Once youre on board youll get the following perks and benefits: Competitive salary dependent on experience Opportunity to earn up to 15% bonus Industry Leading Pension Scheme = well match your contributions up to 8% on a 1 : 1.5 basis Life Assurance 8 x salary 185 hours holiday bank holidays Income protection Shopping discounts Cycle To Work Scheme Employee Assistance Programme Virtual GP Clinic for you and immediate family Free onsite parking Local gym discount 50% off local travel card Free airport Dart Free airport parking Discount with local nursery and preschool childcare setting Enhanced family friendly leave A collaborative, dynamic working environment As well as a competitive package well offer you a world of opportunity. We want to see your career fly! Well support your career progression by providing you with learning and development opportunities. Thats the beauty of being part of a global business, once youre on board you never know where you career journey may take you! Join us and keep the world moving click on the link below to apply A Great Place to work needs a Great Way of Working Everyone is welcome to apply to GKN. We believe that we can only achieve our ambitions through a coming together of diverse minds who enjoy collaborating in an inspirational environment. Through our commitment to diversity, inclusion and belonging and by living our five powerful principles weve created a culture where everyone feels welcome to contribute. Its a culture that won us The Best Workplace Culture Award. By embracing and celebrating what makes us unique we encourage everyone to bring their full self to work. Were also committed to providing an accessible recruitment process, so if you require reasonable adjustments at any stage during our recruitment process please get in touch and let us know. We are the place where human dreams, plus human endeavour, shape the future of aerospace innovation and technology. ?