Facility Scientist/Science Support Technician
Saltburn-by-the-Sea, North Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Job Info
* Job Category Science
* Apply Before 10/05/2025, 10:55 PM
* Job Identification 1200
* Posting Date 09/17/2025, 11:13 AM
* Job Shift Day
* Hours Full Time/ Part Time
Job Description
Science and Technology Facilities Council
Salary: Band D S2 £41,344
Hours: Full Time / Part-Time (minimum 80% FTE) (We understand the importance of work-life balance, and are happy to discuss the possibility of flexible working with applicants)
Contract Type: 2 year fixed term contract
Location: Boulby Underground Science Facility, Boulby Mine, Saltburn-by-the-Sea
Closing date for applications is: Sunday, October 5th 2025
Come and do the kind of science that made you want to become a scientist. Explore the unknown and get to grips with the biggest challenges in Big Science. And, alongside world class engineers, technicians and technologists, use everything you've learnt to find real answers that shape society and improve lives.
Put simply, discover the kind of impact you can make when you work with some of the best facilities and brightest scientists in the world.
The position of "Facility Science Support Technician" is a key role in the busy local team supporting the growing science programme at Boulby Underground Laboratory, the UK’s deep underground science facility.
The Boulby facility is a small, highly motivated, and hard-working team who collectively cover a wide range of facility responsibilities. The role of "Facility Science Support Technician" will be a key person in providing technical, scientific and operational support to a selection of the hosted science projects, supporting science-related facility operations and assisting with facility organisation, outreach and stakeholder liaison.
Duties and responsibilities will include:
* Providing and applying expert scientific, technical and/or engineering knowledge within the department
* Developing, and taking over the management of H&S for experiments with the department
* Taking a leading role in devising and implementing organisation and communication systems for the science delivery of the facility.
* Supporting the installation, maintenance and development - including assisting with technical modifications of selected experiments as and when required.
* Supporting experiments operations, calibrations, data monitoring and analysis.
* Keeping experiments operational records up to date and assisting in arranging purchasing of equipment required for experiments.
* Liaising with laboratory and mine personnel to progress experimental, outreach and occasional operation issues.
* Supervising visiting scientists and the public on visits to the lab and representing the facility in meetings and interactions with local and external facility stakeholders, collaborators, visitors and users. Support the facility with outreach/stakeholder communication and events.
* Undertaking technical, H&S and staff development training as required.
* Assisting in keeping the wider facility organisation and communications systems current, relevant, and up to date.
Important – Please be aware this post requires the incumbent to work underground, therefore the successful candidate must be able to follow an exacting health and safety regime, be physically able to work unground in a mining / laboratory environment and be comfortable wearing / using protective equipment suitable to an underground mining / laboratory environment.
Shortlisting and Interview Criteria
* Degree (BSc.) or equivalent experience in science or engineering area with good technical, IT and/or engineering/practical skills gain in a in a science support and delivery position
* Strong organisational skills. Ability to employ organisational systems to manage complex or varied operations.
* Good communication skills, to be able to effectively communicate with a range of facility collaborators, including scientists and engineers, mining personnel, external contract staff, the public, and visiting VIPs.
* Experience of public engagement and/or willingness to be involved in laboratory public and customer engagement.
* A positive, proactive, and enthusiastic approach to work and delivery of the facility vision and goals, adapting and helping team members as/when needed.
* Willingness to learn new skills and take on new responsibilities as needed.
* Ability and willingness to work flexibly and collaboratively in a small and active team in a unique and interesting environment.
* Please note this role based onsite and cannot be worked remotely
* Please note this role is based underground in our Boulby mine, knowledge or experience of working in an underground science facility is required.
Employee Benefits:
* We are offering a 2 year fixed term contract with a whole host of benefits including:
30 days holiday (in addition to 10.5 bank holidays and privilege days).
* An excellent average salary pension scheme.
We ask some of the biggest questions in the universe, to answer some of the biggest challenges in the world. Together, our scientists, technologists, engineers, and business-support team explore the unknown across every field you could think of. And they turn what they find into work that changes the world around us.
What could you achieve with the world-leading facilities and experts of one of Europe's largest research organisations by your side? Join us and discover what is possible!
Please note, if you will require sponsorship to work in the UK, as part of your sponsorship application, you and any dependants travelling with you, will be required to pay costs directly to The Home Office for the application before you start your role with us. UKRI is normally able to reimburse some, or all of these fees after you have become an employee and this can be discussed with the Hiring Manager. For more information, please visithttps://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa/how-much-it-costs or contact Recruitment@ukri.org.
About Us
UKRI - UK Research and Innovation
UKRI is an organisation that brings together the seven disciplinary research councils, Research England and Innovate UK. Together, we build an independent organisation with a strong voice and vision ensuring the UK maintains its world-leading position in research and innovation.
Supporting some of the world’s most exciting and challenging research projects, we develop and operate some of the most remarkable scientific facilities in the world. We are pushing the frontiers of human knowledge through fundamental research and delivering benefits for UK society and the economy through world-class research, skills and business-led innovation.
More information can be found at www.ukri.org .
Choosing to come to work at UKRI means that you will have access to a whole host of benefits from a defined benefit pension scheme, excellent holiday entitlement, access to employee shopping/travel discounts and salary sacrifice cycle to work scheme. For more details, visit benefits of working for UKRI .
How we support EDI in the workforce
At UKRI, we believe that everyone has a right to be treated with dignity and respect, and to be provided with equal opportunities to thrive and succeed in an environment that enables them to do so. We also value diversity of thought and experience within inclusive groups, organisations and the wider community. For further information, please visit ‘How we support EDI in the workforce’.
Disability Confident Employer
As users of the disability confident scheme, we guarantee to interview all applicants with a disability who opt into the disability confident scheme and meet the minimum criteria for the role. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.
How to apply
Online applications only preferred for this role. Please submit a CV and covering letter which clearly outlines how you fulfil the criteria specified along with your motivation for UKRI and the role. Ensure that the job reference number is included in the filename description of each document uploaded. Note that failure to address the above criteria or submit an application without a covering letter may result in the application not being considered. Assessment will only be based upon the content of your submitted covering letter and CV and not the ‘experience’ section of the application.
UKRI seeks to ensure it creates and maintains a system of openness, fairness and inclusion – a collaborative, trusted environment, which is attractive to and accessible to everyone who is interested in developing their career with us.
The role holder will be required to have the appropriate level of security screening/vetting required for the role. UKRI reserves the right to run or re-run security clearance as required during the course of employment.
About the Team
The Science and Technology Facilities Council is a world-leading multi-disciplinary science organisation where curiosity-driven, blue-skies thinking meets practical, application-led science and engineering. Our goal is to deliver economic, societal, scientific and international benefits to the UK and its people – and more broadly to the world.
One of Europe’s largest research organisations, we’re trusted to support, enable and undertake cutting-edge projects in an amazing diversity of fields. Through world-class facilities and people, we’re driving ground-breaking advances in science, engineering, computing and technology. Our research seeks to understand the Universe from the largest astronomical scales to the tiniest constituents of matter, yet creates impact on a very tangible, human scale.
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