Salary: Research Assistant: £32,546 - £34,132 per annum
Research Associate: £35,116 - £45,413 per annum
Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.
Closing Date: 17 September 2025
The Role
The Research Assistant/Associate will be part of Newcastle University’s Electrical Power Group working with the Marine Resources and Renewable Energy Group. The aim of the role is to assist in the design modelling and build of a floating platform which harvests wave and tidal energy. This is a short technology demonstration project where the ability to make a quick engineering decision early in the project is just as important as the ability to do the follow up detailed simulation and optimisation work. The role involves first hand research in small scale wave and tidal energy extraction, working with electrical and hydrodynamic academics and fabrication companies.
The project builds on long term work and expertise of the group in wave energy and tidal stream energy, such as that described in academic outputs.
You will be given the high level design of the tidal and wave generation concepts and must work with the academics and fabrication company on translating this into a workable design with a predictable yield. This is a flexible role and depending on the candidate’s experience and research aspirations, the work may focus on the electrical power take off design or the hydrodynamic design of either a low speed tidal turbine or a small heaving wave energy converter.
This is a full time role (37 hours per week) for a fixed term basis of 7 months.
To apply, please complete the online application form and attach a copy of your CV and a covering letter. The cover letter should outline how you meet the person specific knowledge, skills and experience listed for this role.
For informal enquiries, you can contact nick.baker@newcastle.ac.uk or kayvan.pazouki@newcastle.ac.uk
For more information about the School of Engineering, please click here
The Person (Essential)
You will be an engineer or research scientist with a flexible attitude towards problem solving. The background can be electrical, mechanical hydrodynamic or similar and must include some element of relevant simulation and design work.
Knowledge, Skills and Experience
• Experience in developing wave or tidal energy or similar field
• Simulation experience in finite element analysis and/or hydrodynamics and/or time domain simulation such as Matlab SIMULINK
• Ability to communicate research results verbally and in scientific writing
Attributes and Behaviour
• Strong interpersonal and team-working skills, ability to work in a multi-disciplinary team
• Able to work independently and report to technical, academic and industrial stakeholders
Qualifications
Essential for Research Associate
• Fully completed and awarded PhD in relevant area
Essential for Research Assistant
• Relevant degree in Electrical, Mechanical, Marine or related subject
• Nearing completion of PhD in relevant area
Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.
We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society. We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent. We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.
At Newcastle University we hold a silver Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality. We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC. We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.
In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe.
Requisition ID: 28460