Composites Manufacturing Engineer (KTP Associate)

The successful candidate will lead the design and manufacturing of the carbon-fibre load-bearing composites. The position is for 25 months. The expected start date is as soon as is practical.

The Associate will work on:
– Company’s product range and manufacturing techniques for carbon-fibre
– Numerical analysis to optimise carbon-fibre products
– Manufacturing process optimisation for carbon-fibre products
– Documentation for UKCA, CE marking, and British Board of Agrément (BBA) approval to Building Regulations.
– Recycling methods for carbon-fibre products and degradation of properties

The role requires the successful candidate to:
– Collaborate with the team to ensure timely delivery of the project milestones.
– Design and numerically analyse carbon-fibre products.
– Develop manufacturing process optimisation strategies to save costs.
– Prepare standardized approval documentation (BBA and UKCA/CE marking) for commercial use of load-bearing carbon-fibre products
– Develop effective recycling methods for carbon-fibre products
– Participate in Plan-Do-Check-Act team working to embed best practice in line with the existing ISO 9000 quality management system.
– Co-working with senior management on all the improvements to ensure that they are sustainable.
– Co-working with the design team on the 3D CAD applications and numerical methods.

The Associate must have completed their latest degree (studies) within the last five years and have the
following key attributes to ensure the project’s successful completion.

Skills and experience:

Person Specification:
– Educated to degree level in Mechanical/Manufacturing/Design/Composites with a First Class (or 2:1 Honours)
– A master’s degree or PhD [awarded, recently submitted, or near completion] in Mechanical/Manufacturing/Design or a closely related discipline will be an advantage.

Essential:
– Project management
– Using CAD packages, e.g., SolidWorks, Autodesk Inventor.
– Practical implementation of sensors/actuators
– Using engineering tools, e.g., ANSYS, MATLAB, Excel
– Setting up experiments for validation
– Meeting strict deadlines
– Reporting and presenting to senior management
– Creating training materials and delivering staff training
– Technical writing, e.g., test plans, reports
– Commercial awareness and sensitivity

Desirable:
– Systems thinking
– MSc/PhD in a related subject or relevant experience
– Collaborating with external clients
– Experience with ISO 9000

Personal Skills:
– Enthusiastic, self-motivated and able to take a proactive role in delivering the proposal’s work plan successfully.
– Practical interpersonal skills to establish good working relationships with colleagues, stakeholders, and industrial partners.
– Excellent communication skills to express ideas adequately and articulate complicated matters between the academics and the company project team members either orally or in writing.
– Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and computational skills, along with being adept at applying knowledge to commercial projects, driving value and making an impact where possible.
– Strong leadership and project management skills.

The project is focused on developing carbon-fibre-based composites for load-bearing applications to attract new customers and enter new markets. This will be achieved by utilising design and numerical analysis skills for composite materials and streamlining the manufacturing process for mass scale production. It will also involve investigating the effects of carbon-fibre recycling (for cost effectiveness) on mechanical properties. Prototypes will be developed for testing and documentation will be prepared for British Board of Agrément (BBA) and UKCA/CE marking. These capabilities will ensure that the company will achieve a competitive edge in attracting new customers by developing advanced carbon-fibre-based composites in an efficient manner.