Surrey Space Centre - Electrical

Location: Guildford
Salary: £38,592 to £63,674
Post Type: Full Time
Closing Date: 23.59 hours GMT on Monday 20 March 2023
Reference: 000423

Lecturer / Senior Lecturer in Space Applications, Exploration, and Instrumentation (two positions)

Do you want to join a team of pioneering researchers pushing forward the frontiers of space engineering and science at a University that is making major investments in the field?

The Surrey Space Centre (SSC), part of the School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering at the University of Surrey, is seeking to recruit two Lecturers / Senior Lecturers who will undertake research and teaching in the fields of space applications, exploration and instrumentation.

Established in 1979, SSC is an internationally acclaimed centre of excellence in space engineering and science, which enjoys an outstanding reputation for the quality of its research and teaching and has strong links with the space industry.  SSC launched its first satellite in 1981 which kicked-off the microsatellite revolution and led to University’s successful spin-out company, SSTL. SSC has led numerous space experiments including the ‘RemoveDebris’ mission which was deployed from the International Space Station and demonstrated how space debris could be captured by nets and harpoons ready for safe disposal. We also recently launched the latest version of our space weather monitor, CREDANCE, on the NASA ‘Living with a Star’ mission DSX (via a Space-X Falcon-9 Heavy rocket): variants of this design were also included on the recent (albeit unsuccessful) Virgin Orbit launch from Spaceport Cornwall. Our current research portfolio addresses space engineering and applications including space environments, space weather, astrodynamics, electric propulsion, remote sensing and on-board processing. Our funding comes from a very diverse range of sources including ESA, NASA, Met Office, UN, UKSA, Dstl, STFC, NERC, EU and industry. SSC has an extensive range of space test and experimental facilities including a satellite ground station and operations centre; large cleanroom; thermal, vacuum, vibration, radiation and shock environmental test facilities, large granite tables for zero-friction experiments, propulsion laboratory; solar simulation facility and prototyping maker-spaces. We are currently benefiting from a new £800K investment jointly by the University of Surrey and the UK Space Agency to boost academic-industry collaboration and improve UK space skills: this initiative will also significantly develop the Centre’s facilities and capabilities.

SSC delivers a well-established and highly-successful MSc programme in Space Engineering attracting over 50 students annually in addition to a BEng/MEng Astronautics and Space Engineering course. We anticipate that the successful candidate(s) will contribute to the delivery of selected existing modules and develop new ones (if appropriate) and undertake supervision of MSc and undergraduate projects. 

To grow SSC further we are looking to appoint two new Lecturers or Senior Lecturers.

The following fields of research are of particular interest:

• The space environment, space safety and sustainability including space traffic/debris and space weather.
• Remote sensing and earth observation including image processing and instrumentation
• Space exploration including planetary science, in-orbit servicing and manufacturing, landers, rovers, habitation and in-situ resource utilisation 
• Spacecraft engineering and mission design (including orbital and attitude mechanics, guidance and navigation, propulsion, avionics and power (including space-based power generation), robotics. 

However we do not exclude topics beyond those listed. We especially welcome experts whose research leads, with suitable support, towards practical space experiments, instruments and missions, including:

• In-situ instrumentation for planetary science and environmental measurement and observation
• Remote sensing instrumentation (including optical) 
• Applied Machine Learning for Spacecraft Onboard Autonomy
• Robotics (e.g., rendezvous & docking, active debris removal)
• Power & Thermal management systems

Applicants from candidates with experience of the space industry are welcome and it is recognised that working in industry can place limitations on publication opportunities. 

The successful candidates will pursue their research programme by securing external funding grants and attracting high quality students and researchers.  The appointees will be supported by the Centre’s own research resources (including technicians, engineering support, facilities, labs) and by Faculty-level services (e.g. finance, HR and proposal-writing support).

Where applicable the appointee will benefit from access to support for early career academics and also potentially to PhD research students via the University’s Doctoral College and other internal funding schemes.

For Informal enquiries, please contact Professor Keith Ryden, Interim Director of the Surrey Space Centre  k.ryden@surrey.ac.uk.

Further details: Job Description

For more information and to apply online, please download the further details and click on the 'apply online' button above.

In return we offer a generous pension, relocation assistance where appropriate , flexible working options including job share and blended home/campus working locations (dependent on work duties), access to world-class leisure facilities on campus, a range of travel schemes and supportive family friendly benefits including an excellent on-site nursery.

Click here to find out more about the benefits we offer to support you.

The University of Surrey is committed to providing an inclusive environment that offers equal opportunities for all. We place great value on diversity and are seeking to increase the diversity within our community. Therefore we particularly encourage applications from under-represented groups, such as people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups and people with disabilities.