Postdoctoral Research Associate in Wearable Sensors in Kilmarnock

Research Assistant / Associate, School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Institute of Sensors, Signals and Systems

Grade and Salary: Grade 6 £31,236 - £36,636; Grade 7 £37,694 - £47,389 (Grade depends on experience)

Contract details: Fixed term for 13 months, full time

Holiday Entitlement: 33 days annual leave plus 9 buildings closed days (and Christmas Eve when it falls on a weekday)

Job Purpose: To make a leading contribution to PD-WATCH, a project funded through the Tay Health Tech Grand Challenge, focused on the development and clinical validation of a miniaturised, flexible wearable patch for continuous tremor monitoring in Parkinson’s disease. Working with Dr Anne Bernassau and Prof Marc Desmulliez, the PDRA will support hardware optimisation, data acquisition, machine-learning pipelines for tremor classification, and clinical validation in collaboration with NHS Lothian. The successful candidate will contribute to experimental design, data analysis, the preparation of publications, and support management of this interdisciplinary project.

Main Duties And Responsibilities:

• Take a leading role in the planning and conduct of assigned research individually or jointly in accordance with the project deliverables and project strategy. This includes hardware refinement, tremor-signal acquisition, and algorithm development.
• Characterisation analysis and interpretation of tremor data, including maintenance of datasets, documentation, drafting technical reports and scientific publications.
• Establish and maintain your research profile in sensor systems, biomedical signal processing, wearable technologies, or related fields, through publications and research dissemination.
• Survey the research literature and environment, understand the research challenges associated with the project and subject area, and develop/implement a suitable research strategy.
• Presentation of work at international and national conferences, at internal and external seminars, colloquia and workshops to develop and enhance our research profile.
• Take a leading role in developing and maintaining collaborations with colleagues across the research group/School/College/University and broader community of academic and industrial partners.
• Take a leading role in team/group meetings/seminars/workshops and School research group activities to enhance the wider knowledge, outputs and culture of the School/College.
• Take the lead in the organisation, supervision, mentoring and training of undergraduate and/or postgraduate students and less experienced members of the project team to ensure their effective development.
• Perform administrative tasks related to the activities of the research group and School, including Budgets/Expenditure.
• Keep up to date with current knowledge and recent advances in the field/discipline.
• Engage in personal, professional and career development, to enhance both specialist and transferable skills in accordance with desired career trajectory.
• Undertake any other reasonable duties as required by the Head of School/Director of Research Institute.
• Contribute to the enhancement of the University’s international profile in line with the University Strategy.

For Appointment At Grade 7:

• Take the lead in identifying and attracting new sources of independent and external research funding and researchers into this research area as opportunities permit to support future research.
• Present research findings at high-profile national and international conferences, seminars and meetings to raise the profile of the research group to enhance the research strength of the School.
• Make a leading contribution to the management of the team/project and sustain an enhanced level of academic outputs and profile.

Essential Knowledge, Qualifications, Skills and Experience:

Knowledge and Qualifications:

• A1 Normally Scottish Credit and Qualification Framework level 12 (PhD) or alternatively possess the equivalent in professional qualifications and experience, with experience of personal development in a similar or related role(s).
• A2 A comprehensive and up-to-date knowledge of current issues and future directions within the field of inertial sensing, biomedical signal analysis, wearable devices, or related technical areas.
• A3 Evidenced Track Record In Analytical Ability And Data-processing Skills Relevant To Tremor Or Movement-disorder Data.

For Appointment At Grade 7 The Following Are Also Required:

• A4 Specialist theoretical and practical knowledge in biomedical sensing, wearable systems, tremor analysis, or movement-disorder signal processing.
• A5 Knowledge of advanced machine-learning or deep-learning approaches for biosignal analysis.
• A6 Understanding of technologies relevant to real-world deployments, such as embedded systems design, firmware programming, or low-power sensor design.

Grade 6 - Skills Essential:

• C1 Research or Industrial creativity and strong cross-discipline collaborative ability
• C2 Excellent communication skills (oral and written), including public presentations and ability to communicate complex data/concepts clearly and concisely
• C3 Excellent interpersonal skills including team working and a collegiate approach
• C4 Appropriate workload/time/project/budget/people management skills
• C5 Extensive IT and data analysis/interpretation skills as appropriate
• C6 Self-motivation, initiative and independent thought/working
• C7 Problem solving skills including a flexible and pragmatic approach
• C8 Good Team Leadership skills including demonstrable supervisory skills

Grade 7 - Skills Essential:

• C9 Evidence of expertise in wearable-sensor development, embedded systems, or advanced data analysis.
• C10 Able to work both individually as well as part of a team and manage staff members as appropriate to disseminate findings to colleagues
• C11 Strong cross-discipline collaborative ability, including evidence of working across industry and academia;
• C12 Able to work in both industrial and academic environments with a good understanding of key legislative and process frameworks and/or industrial technology and approaches.

Experience Essential:

• E1 Sufficient depth of relevant research or industrial experience, including postdoctoral experience in biomedical engineering or closely related industrial applications, at a level appropriate for an early-career researcher.
• E2 Evidenced track record in analysing sensor or time-series biomedical data.
• E3 Proven ability to deliver quality outputs in a timely and efficient manner.
• E4 A track record of presentation and publication of research results in quality publications/conferences.
• E5 Experience of making a leading contribution in academic activities.
• E6 Ability to demonstrate a degree of independence as illustrated by identification of project objectives from assessment of the literature, design & analysis of experiments & drafting of papers.
• E7 Experience in undertaking independent research.
• E8 Commitment to open research, as appropriate to the discipline, through open data, open code, open educational resources and practices that support replication.
• E9 Proven Commitment To Supporting The Career Development Of Colleagues And To Other Forms Of Collegiality Appropriate To The Career Stage.
• E10 Experience of independence as illustrated by identification of project objectives from assessment of literature, design and analysis of research data and drafting of papers.

How To Apply: Applications can be submitted up to midnight (UK time) on. Please submit your CV & covering letter via the Heriot-Watt on-line recruitment.

Heriot-Watt University is committed to securing equality of opportunity in employment and to the creation of an environment in which individuals are selected, trained, promoted, appraised, and otherwise treated on the sole basis of their relevant merits and abilities. Equality and diversity are all about maximising potential and creating a culture of inclusion for all.

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