PhD Placement Opportunity Embedded Sensing in Concrete

Converge; City Of London; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A climate and construction technology startup is seeking a Research Engineer for up to 6 months to work on novel methods for material behavior characterization. Candidates should have a strong background in electrical engineering or experimental physics, and hands-on experience with lab instruments and programming. Join a collaborative, inclusive environment where innovation meets impact through technology.

Benefits

Competitive salary

Collaborative work environment

Inclusive workplace

Clubs and events

Qualifications

• Proven track record conducting deep research and designing experiments.
• Experience designing and building laboratory setups with benchtop equipment.
• Strong familiarity with benchtop lab equipment.

Responsibilities

• Designing and testing experimental laboratory setups for material characterization.
• Programming lab instruments for automated testing.
• Conducting research experiments and iterating on setups.

Skills

Experimental physics

Electrical engineering

Programming (Python, LabView)

Circuit design

Signal processing

Education

PhD or final-stage PhD in relevant field

Tools

Oscilloscopes

Function generators

Microcontrollers

Data acquisition systems

Job description

Overview

Converge is a climate and construction technology startup that builds AI and sensors to digitise and decarbonise concrete construction. Concrete is the most consumed material on the planet, and represents 8% of global carbon emissions. By leveraging smart sensors embedded in the material, Converge has built one of the world’s largest dataset on concrete performance. This sensor data powers new foundation models for material optimisation. Converge is backed by leading climate tech and impact investors and has raised over £40m to deliver on this mission and vision to build the future.

The Role

The Role - Research Engineer

Duration - Up to 6 months

We are looking for a highly skilled researcher with a strong background in electrical engineering, experimental physics or related discipline to support our concrete technology team with an exciting frontier research project focused on novel methods for material behaviour characterisation.

This is your chance to work on a cutting edge project with meaningful impact on the way the world measures concrete, the most used man-made material in the world.

About You

As a Research Engineer, you’ll contribute to:

• Designing, assembling and testing an experimental laboratory setup for material characterisation.
• Programming lab instruments and setups for automated material testing e.g. automating instrument control, signal acquisition, and data logging.
• Conducting research experiments and iterating on experimental setups.
• Scaling setups for large scale multi-instrument experiments.
• Documenting configurations, experimental results, and system architecture.

We are looking for a postdoctoral researcher or final-stage PhD student in electrical engineering, experimental physics, or a related discipline with:

• Proven track record conducting deep research and designing experiments
• Experience designing and building laboratory setups using benchtop equipment and/or custom electronics to achieve experimental goals
• Strong familiarity with benchtop lab equipment e.g. oscilloscopes, function generators etc…
• Experience with mixed-signal electronics and circuit design
• Hands-on experience with microcontrollers, multiplexers, data acquisition, and signal processing.
• Strong experience programming, scripting, and automating experimental setups for data collection (e.g. using Python, LabView or other)
• Experience with large scale experimental setups which include multiple instruments working in parallel

Benefits

• Salary: Competitive
• A collaborative, dynamic and hybrid work environment.
• An array of Convergian led clubs you can join from running to board games, and in person events throughout the year so you can have a chance to learn more about your fellow Convergians.
• A fun, inclusive workplace that celebrates diversity in all its forms, and where everyone can bring their whole selves to work and be treated fairly, equitably and respectfully.