6-Month PhD Student Placement - Physics Consultant - 2027

TTP plc; Melbourn; On-site; GBP 20,000 - 28,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Free lunch

Clubs and activities

Paid internship

Job summary

TTP plc is seeking a PhD Intern to join its multi-disciplinary teams on a six-month programme near Cambridge. You will contribute to invention, analysis, prototype design, and transfer to manufacture across diverse applications.

The role combines technical work with client-facing consultancy, and you’ll grow through mentoring and responsibility within a collaborative environment. Applicants should be pursuing a Physics PhD with a 2:1 and demonstrate curiosity, initiative, and strong

Qualifications

• Minimum 2:1 in Physics demonstrated by degree proof.
• Currently undertaking a PhD in Physics.
• Commercially aware with an entrepreneurial mindset.
• Proactive and self-starting with responsibility.
• Collaborative and emotionally intelligent, able to articulate complex ideas clearly.

Responsibilities

• Support multi-disciplinary project teams from invention to prototype and transfer to manufacture.
• Engage with clients to present findings and understand requirements.
• Develop understanding across diverse science and technology fields.
• Contribute to shaping new products and technologies with commercial insight.

Skills

Curiosity

Entrepreneurial mindset

Proactive/self-starter

Collaborative/EMI

Communication of complex ideas

Education

2:1 in Physics

PhD in Physics (in progress)

Job description

Company Description

TTP is an employee-owned technology and product development consultancy, with a 40-year track record of helping ambitious clients solve complex challenges and bring innovative, commercially successful solutions to market.

We support clients to invent, design, and manufacture impactful products and technologies across a wide range of industries – such as health tech, life science, energy, and communications – and at the intersection of engineering, physical science, and biology.

As a 6 month PhD Intern, your expertise and creativity will be appreciated and nurtured from day one. You’ll dive straight into contributing to technical projects, solving complex real-world problems, working with clients and being a trusted and integral member of the team.

Job Description

PhD Interns at TTP use their scientific skillsets to support multi-disciplinary project teams in inventing new products and technologies, utilising commercial acumen to drive projects forward. To succeed in this role, you’ll demonstrate leadership, build collaborative relationships with clients and ultimately work to having a strong understanding of industries we work across.

From a technical perspective, you will be involved in all aspects of technology and product development: from invention, to analysis, to prototype design and transfer to manufacture. The diversity in our work means that you can find yourself making a difference in a wide range of applications as vast as building state-of-the-art drug delivery devices, accelerating drug discovery through AI & next-gen DMTA, or developing a 5G NTN handset antenna.

You will have the opportunity to work on multiple such projects at any one time, so over a year at TTP your experiences and applications will be vast, and you can expect to develop and expand your understanding of entirely new fields of science and technology rapidly.

Equal to your technical work, you will also develop as a consultant. This means harnessing your entrepreneurial mindset: building an understanding of the markets we work in, engaging directly with clients to present your findings, and proactively ensuring their requirements are fully understood and met. As you gain experience, you will have opportunities to work on complex projects, build teams, and help expand TTP’s reach by building connections and engaging with clients.

We believe growth happens best in a collaborative environment where knowledge is shared freely and curiosity is encouraged – this is why we have the requirement for all staff to work on-site five days a week. You'll receive mentorship and guidance when needed, but also the space and trust to take initiative, explore your interests, and shape your own development. You'll be encouraged to contribute early, take ownership of your work, and collaborate across disciplines to deliver impactful solutions.

Qualifications

• Deep intellectual curiosity and inventiveness, with a desire to understandhow things work at a fundamental level. You should have an academicrecord that reflects your capacity for rigorous, first-principlesthinking – having achieved a minimum 2:1 in Physics, and currently undertaking your PhD in the subject.


• Commercially aware and entrepreneurial, excited by the opportunity to turn breakthrough technologies into real-world products, ventures, and impact.


• Proactive and self-starting, with a strong sense of personal responsibility and a drive to make things happen.


• Collaborative and emotionally intelligent, able to build trust, influence stakeholders, energise those around you, and communicatecomplex technical ideas with clarity, empathy, and precision, regardless of your audience's background.


• Strategic and systems-minded, able to see the bigger picture, anticipate challenges and opportunities while considering the commercial aspects of technology product development, and navigate ambiguity while keeping priorities sharp and focused.

We're looking for candidates who want to impact the industry both commercially and technically; those who don't just solve problems - but who seek them out, thrive on them, and elevate those around them while doing so.

We recruit on a rolling basis, so although there is no application deadline, the advert will close once all spaces have been filled. We recommend applying early for the best chance.

Additional Information

TTP operates from an award-winning campus in green surroundings, just south of Cambridge. This is a paid internship with generous benefits, including free lunch, as well as a wide range of clubs to join covering sports and social activities.