KTP Associate – Environmental Monitoring

This is an exciting opportunity for an ambitious qualified candidate in Data Science, Environmental Science, Engineering or a relevant field covering sensing and instrumentation, to fast-track their career development as a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) Associate. The candidate will lead development of environmental monitoring technologies, data management and analysis methods to investigate animal interactions with marine energy devices. This work will involve independent design, research into sensing and instrumentation, test and validation, system integration, data processing and algorithm development. This crucial work will allow UK and global regulatory authorities to de-risk or retire existing marine renewable energy environmental concerns, and facilitate streamlined consent procedures to enable a sustainable, effective energy transition.

Person Specification

• MSc in Electronic & Electrical Engineering, Computer/Data Science, Mechatronics, Environmental Science or a relevant field with a quantitative and analytical background e.g. Oceanography, or Marine Science.

Skills and Knowledge

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Programming (e.g., MATLAB, Python) and data analysis.

Personal Attributes

• Self-motivated, with strong attention to detail, a logical and systematic approach to tackling and managing large complex projects and analytical abilities.
• Dynamic interpersonal skills and the ability to effectively communicate with diverse audiences e.g. academic and technical teams, sales and marketing personnel, existing company customers and potential new clients.
• Willingness to undertake field trials offshore.

Experience

• Essential – Experience of working independently and in a team.
• Experience of working to tight deadlines and ability to prioritise workloads.
• Desirable – Experience in sensor system design, sensor integration, prototyping and testing.
• Experience of underwater acoustics (echosounders, imaging sonar) or related data processing.
• Commercial awareness or experience working in or with industry.

Please read the full person specification and include your CV and a covering letter with your application. Interviews will be held W/C 7th July 2025. Please note the start day is flexible and will be agreed with the successful applicant.

Co-funded by Innovate UK, KTP supports partnerships between business and universities, placing KTP Associates to work on innovative high-profile projects. The successful candidate will undertake a 36-month collaborative project between the world’s leading demonstration facility for wave and tidal energy technologies, the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC), and the Environmental Research Institute at the University of the Highlands and Islands (ERI-UHI). The post will be based at the EMEC in Orkney, Scotland.

The successful candidate will receive extensive practical and formal training, gain marketable skills, broaden their knowledge and expertise within an industrially relevant project, and gain valuable research and commercial experience from business and academic mentors. There is significant opportunity for autonomy, as the candidate will be responsible and accountable for the project, with direct access to managers, and responsible for coordinating work between the University and EMEC. They will build skills in innovation as a springboard for a future career in either academia or industry.

The KTP Associate will also benefit from a Personal Development Budget of £6,000, significant opportunities for training and learning new skills with at least 10% of time allocated to personal development. 2-weeks of residential dedicated training in commercial awareness, leadership and management are provided with the cohort of other KTP Associates.

About the business

Established in 2003, the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) Ltd is the world’s first and leading facility for demonstrating and testing wave and tidal energy converters – technologies that generate electricity by harnessing the power of waves and tidal streams – in the sea. EMEC is an innovation catalyst, built on a vision to pioneer the transition to a clean energy future. Supporting research and development of technologies that harness the power of waves and tidal streams, EMEC has several test sites enabling developers to refine and improve their technologies, reducing time, cost, and risk to new sustainable technologies.