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NCEO Airborne Earth Observatory Instrument Technician

Employer
KINGS COLLEGE LONDON
Location
London (Greater) (GB)
Salary
Grade 5, £32,676 to £37,297 per annum, inclusive of £3,500 per annum London Allowance
Closing date
7 Mar 2021

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Job Details

Job description

King's College London hosts one node of the National Centre for Earth Observation (https://www.nceo.ac.uk/).  Divisional director, Professor Martin Wooster (Department of Geography) oversees field instruments and significant new investments, in cooperation with Mr James Johnson (EO Engineering &Technical Specialist). The group is leading the development of a new airborne remote sensing capability based on a manned aircraft platform - the NCEO Airborne Earth Observatory (NAEO).  

We plan to support this effort by appointing an instrument technician to provide electrical, mechanical and general engineering support to NAEO and the wider NCEO instrumentation capability, including the development of a Field and Airborne Instrumentation Lab just outside of London.   The role will be focused around fabrication, integration, commissioning and maintaining scientific EO instrumentation and aiding its use in data collection and experiments (including airborne hyperspectral imaging devices). The NAEO and the setting up of the new laboratory will be an additional key focus, as will supporting experiments conducted in the groups on site Combustion Chamber, (logistical support, desk based administration, and engineering support in the lab/field/on-board aircraft). A UK driving licence is an essential requirement

The post holder will report to the Engineering and Technical Specialist and work directly with researchers, academics, postgraduate students, aviation professionals and instrument manufacturers as required.

After training, the postholder will assist on-board the aircraft during data acquisitions through the operation and management of the sensors and associated equipment. First flights are expected in Spring/Summer 2021. 

This post will be offered on an a fixed-term contract for 18 months 
This is a full-time post.

Key responsibilities

  •   Assist in the upkeep, calibration, repair and operation of sensors (specifically Hyperspectral, Thermal, Photogrammetric & Lidar sensors) as well as other supporting infrastructure.  
  •   Assist in the fabrication of mounts and interfaces to secure sensors and equipment to various aircraft hard points. 
  •   Assist in the manufacture of installation specific data and power wiring looms.  
  •   Complete and collate all essential paperwork as detailed on specific engineering task cards. 
  •   Liaise with external groups visiting the lab to conduct calibration of equipment, preparing required sensors for ground/lab based tests. 
  •   Compile mission specific paperwork outlining data collection and acquisition information as supplied from all project relevant groups (data collection requirements, sensor setup, aeronautical parameters and authorisations, risk assessments, etc) 
  •   Back up collected data sets as per the data management protocol, conduct quality control assessment and assist data processing node as required to verify acquired data is valid. 
  •   Assist in the setting up of new the new NCEO Field and Airborne Instrumentation Laboratory, and the use of the equipment it hosts and that in the nearby experimental Combustion Chamber as required. 

The above list of responsibilities may not be exhaustive, and the post holder will be required to undertake such tasks and responsibilities as may reasonably be expected within the scope and grading of the post.  

Skills, knowledge, and experience  Essential criteria 

  • At least HNC level Electrical/Electronic or related
  • Engineering qualification  Ability to work alone on tasks once
  • relevant training and directions provided.   Experience working in an
  • electronics engineering laboratory or workshop   Willing to
  • contribute to other non engineering tasks associated with the running
  • of the NAEO and associated laboratories (administrative / logistical
  • duties) as required, including setting up of instruments for
  • experiments  
  • willingness to travel between sites and/or places of work as required for the role

Desirable criteria 

  • Experience of working with spectrometer or lidar technologies  
  • Current First Aid at Work Certificate  Working knowledge of
  • radiometric calibration and/or analysis of hyperspectral EO data 
  • Some coding ability (e.g. Python)  An understanding of aircraft
  • operations

Further information

Must be willing to deploy on research aircraft and travel overseas on campaign/fieldwork  
To be based within easy travel distance of Rothamsted Research, Harpenden 
Will be required to complete aviation related safety training based around fire & smoke and aircraft ditching certification

Company

King's College London is one of the top 20 universities in the world and among the oldest in England. King's has more than 27,600 students (of whom nearly 10,500 are graduate students) from some 150 countries worldwide, and some 6,800 staff.

King's has an outstanding reputation for world-class teaching and cutting-edge research. In the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF) King’s was ranked 6th nationally in the ‘power’ ranking, which takes into account both the quality and quantity of research activity, and 7th for quality according to Times Higher Education rankings. Eighty-four per cent of research at King’s was deemed ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’ (3* and 4*). The university is in the top seven UK universities for research earnings and has an overall annual income of more than £684 million.

King's has a particularly distinguished reputation in the humanities, law, the sciences (including a wide range of health areas such as psychiatry, medicine, nursing and dentistry) and social sciences including international affairs. It has played a major role in many of the advances that have shaped modern life, such as the discovery of the structure of DNA and research that led to the development of radio, television, mobile phones and radar.

King's College London and Guy's and St Thomas', King's College Hospital and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trusts are part of King's Health Partners. King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre (AHSC) is a pioneering global collaboration between one of the world's leading research-led universities and three of London's most successful NHS Foundation Trusts, including leading teaching hospitals and comprehensive mental health services. For more information, visit: www.kingshealthpartners.org.

King’s £600 million campaign, World questions|KING’s answers, has delivered huge global impact in areas where King’s has particular expertise. Philanthropic support has funded new research to save young lives at Evelina London Children’s Hospital; established the King’s Dickson Poon School of Law as a worldwide leader in transnational law; built a new Cancer Centre at Guy’s Hospital; allowed unique collaboration between leading neuroscientists to fast-track new treatments for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, motor neurone disease, depression and schizophrenia at the new Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute; created the Cicely Saunders Institute: the first academic institution in the world dedicated to palliative care, and supported the King’s Sierra Leone Partnership in the Ebola crisis. Donations provide over 300 of the most promising students with scholarships and bursaries each year. More information about the campaign is available at www.kcl.ac.uk/kingsanswers.

Company info
Mini-site
KINGS COLLEGE LONDON
Telephone
+(44)02078365454
Location
STRAND
LONDON
WC2R 2LS
United Kingdom

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