Assistant Editor (PhD holder) - Materials Science/Engineering

MDPI AG; Manchester; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 40,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary with quarterly bonuses

10% pay rise after probation for PhD holders

Flexible working times

Special days off for significant life events

Friendly working culture with events

Access to benefit platform Perkbox

Health Cash Plan after probation

Cyclescheme for bike savings

Techscheme for tech equipment savings

Job summary

A global scholarly publishing company is seeking a recent PhD graduate for an entry-level Assistant Editor position in Manchester. This full-time role involves supporting the editorial process for academic journals, organising peer reviews, and collaborating closely with the editorial team. Ideal candidates will possess a PhD in a related field and have excellent English skills, along with a detail-oriented approach. This is a great opportunity to start a career in a dynamic, multinational environment with numerous benefits.

Qualifications

• PhD in materials science or related fields.
• Familiarity with the academic editorial process is an advantage.
• No previous editorial experience required.

Responsibilities

• Support the editorial process for academic research journals.
• Organise peer review process for submitted manuscripts.
• Handle email communication between publication process parties.
• Collaborate with the editorial and production teams.
• Ensure timely publication of scholarly articles.

Skills

Excellent written and spoken English skills

Advanced knowledge of MS Office applications

Strong organisational and time-management skills

Detail oriented with the capacity to see the big picture

Very good communication and coordination skills

Team player

Education

PhD degree in a related field

Job description

To strengthen our Editorial team, we are looking for recent PhD graduates who are eager to stay connected to scientific research by helping researchers worldwide publish their latest results. The position of Assistant Editor is an entry‑level, full‑time and permanent position based in our city centre office in Manchester, UK.

This is a full‑time in office role. The office is located next to Piccadilly Gardens in Manchester.

Responsibilities

• Support the editorial process for academic research journals in your domain of expertise
• Organise peer review process for submitted manuscripts and coordinate editorial decisions
• Handle email communication between the parties involved in the publication process
• Collaborate with other members of the editorial team and production team
• Ensure that scholarly articles are accurately edited and published according to tight deadlines with a high degree of consistency

Requirements

• A PhD degree in a field related to materials science (e.g., Materials Science and Engineering, Materials physics, Materials chemistry, Material forming and control engineering, Metallurgical engineering, Inorganic non‑metallic materials engineering, Polymer materials, Gemstone and material technology, Nanomaterials and technology, Composite Materials and Engineering, Chemistry, Applied chemistry, Mechanical Engineering, Mechanical design, manufacturing and automation, Mechanical and electronic Engineering, Process equipment and control engineering, Measurement and control technology and instruments).
• Excellent written and spoken English skills.
• Advanced knowledge of MS Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
• Team player with the capability to work in a dynamic, international environment.
• Detail oriented with the capacity to see the big picture.
• Strong organisational and time‑management skills.
• Very good communication and coordination skills.

The career trajectory of this role includes work at conferences, visiting scholars, and marketing events. Applicants should be interested in working face‑to‑face with the scholarly community and be passionate about promoting open access.

As a successful candidate, you will receive full training in editorial work, working closely with Managing Editors and learning how to process research articles from submission to publication. Training supervised by an assigned tutor will take place on the job during the first six months. Depending on your background, you will be assigned to work on journals related to your field of study or research. No previous editorial experience is required; however, a familiarity with the academic editorial process is an advantage. This is a great opportunity to start a first job in a dynamic multinational company which offers a range of career development options to talented, enthusiastic, and hardworking people.

What We Offer

• A competitive salary, including our quarterly bonus scheme, which rewards high‑performing editors.
• 10% pay rise after passing the six‑month probation period (for PhD holders, 5% for Master’s Holders).
• Focused support from your group leader, who is your first point of contact for any issues.
  • Flexible Working Times – You can start work anytime between 7‑9 am, and finish between 3‑6 pm.
  • Special Days Off – Getting married or moving house? No need to use up your holidays; MDPI offers paid time off for such occasions.
  • Our Culture – A friendly working environment with monthly lunch parties, office snacks and seasonal events.
  • Bonus Incentives – Depending on your role, you may be eligible for one of our bonus schemes which rewards high‑performing employees.
  • Perkbox – You will have access to our benefit platform called “Perkbox.” This will provide you with a range of discounts and benefits across various retailers, including savings on food, drinks, tech, travel and more.
  • Health Cash Plan – After passing probation, employees are enrolled into our private health membership with Bupa. You can claim money back on dental, doctors and prescriptions amongst many other health services.
  • Modern City Centre Office – Located next to Piccadilly Gardens, our office is a 10‑minute walk from both Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Oxford Road train stations. There are also tram stops outside of the building.
  • Cyclescheme – Save between 25‑39% on a bike and accessories.
  • Techscheme – Save up to 10% on tax when purchasing tech equipment from places such as IKEA and Currys.

About MDPI

A pioneer in scholarly open‑access publishing, MDPI has supported academic communities since 1996. Our mission is to foster open scientific exchange in all forms, across all disciplines. We operate more than 400 diverse, peer‑reviewed, open access journals supported by over 66,000 academic editors. We serve scholars from around the world to ensure the latest research is openly and broadly available.

MDPI is headquartered in Switzerland with additional offices in Europe, Asia and North America. We are committed to ensuring that high quality research is made available as quickly as possible. We also support sustainability projects, with sustainability as a key theme in many journals and through the MDPI Sustainability Foundation.

Initiatives

At MDPI, we develop and maintain various platforms in order to better serve the scientific community. Below is a list of our main platforms:

• https://www.mdpi.com/
• https://sciprofiles.com/
• https://sciforum.net/
• https://www.scilit.net/
• https://www.preprints.org/
• https://encyclopedia.pub/

If you are interested in this position, we look forward to receiving your application. We look forward to welcoming you to our Manchester office.