Senior Research Associate

In this role, you will form a key part of a world-respected research team whose work has resulted in over ten million devices and an estimated fifty million users. Working closely with undergraduate and postgraduate students, academic staff, commercial partners and international collaborators, you will be integral to developing and researching a variety of novel interactive device and physical computing technologies and artifacts in pursuit of one or more of the following research themes:

• Conceiving and evaluating new physical computing solutions that result in engagement, support learning and empower users to be creative with digital technology. Working on new technologies to “modernise” physical computing, building on the success of web-based code editors like Microsoft MakeCode, easy-to-use processor boards like the micro:bit, and the plug-and-play abstraction of Jacdac.
• Developing and evaluating interactive and embedded devices that address specific real-world problems by combining technologies for sensing, interaction, communications and power in new ways and with new form-factors, to unlock applications not previously possible. Domains include: health & wellbeing, assistive technologies, education, IoT, wearables, environment sensing and secure devices.
• Developing new tools and techniques to address the difficulties of scaling device prototypes. We are building our capability to scale beyond a handful of prototypes with a view to producing tens and hundreds of copies – which we call isotypes – for deeper technical assessment and/or user evaluation. We seek to better understand the difficulties of the isotyping process and to create new tools, techniques and technologies that help us and others address these more easily.

Key duties include conducting original research and development in the above-listed areas of interactive and embedded devices by designing, building and evaluating hardware, firmware and software for new devices and tools. Impact and engagement activities related to research outputs will also be important, including presentations, publishing papers, open-sourcing, commercialisation and/or public engagement. The tools, equipment, materials and consumables necessary for pursing this research will be made available as needed.

You will have a PhD in computer science, electronic engineering or an equivalent qualification. They will be familiar with research problems and trends in device prototyping, development, and/or physical computing. Application materials should provide evidence of experience with electronics design, schematic entry and PCB layout (e.g. with Altium Designer or KiCad). Experience of electronics simulation (e.g. with Spice) would be beneficial. Firmware development experience in C and/or C++ is a pre-requisite, and familiarity with the CODAL and/or Jacdac frameworks is beneficial. Experience working with web/graphic/industrial design tools and front- and/or back-end web technologies including Web Serial, Web USB and/or Web Bluetooth is an advantage.

Any evidence of the above-mentioned skills and experience should be highlighted by candidates in their application materials, along with a CV detailing employment history and publications to-date.

The School of Computing and Communications at Lancaster University offers a highly inclusive and stimulating environment for career development, and you will be exposed to a range of further opportunities over the course of this post. We are committed to family-friendly and flexible working policies, as well as the Athena SWAN Charter, which recognises and celebrates good employment practice undertaken to address gender equality in higher education and research.

You will be working under the direct supervision of Prof Steve Hodges and Prof Joe Finney. The expected start date for this role is November 2024. Enquiries are welcome!

Closing Date: 13 Nov 2024

Department: Academic

Salary: £40,247 to £45,163 (Full time, indefinite with end date)