Specialist in Generative Computational Design for Industrialised Construction (KTP Associate)

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Specialist in Generative Computational Design for Industrialised Construction (KTP Associate), Newcastle upon Tyne

Client:

Newcastle University

Location:

Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom

Job Category:

Other

EU work permit required:

Yes

Job Reference:

b7c2b54bdaf7

Job Views:

3

Posted:

18.04.2025

Expiry Date:

02.06.2025

Job Description:

Salary: £40,000 (plus substantial training budget) per annum

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits including great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.
Please note this vacancy adopts the working hours and annual leave of the host partner as set in job description.

Closing Date: 08 May 2025

The Role

Merit Holdings Ltd. and Newcastle University are offering an exciting opportunity to implement a new solution for advancing the digitalisation and automation of the design processes and their interfaces with manufacturing and other business functions.

Merit is one of the UK’s leading offsite construction specialists for technically complex and low-carbon emission buildings, and excels in providing high-quality facilities for the healthcare, pharmaceutical and bioscience sectors. Leveraging the Industrialised Construction (IC) approach, Merit has demonstrated its capability to reduce the on-site construction activities and time while improving the overall productivity and profitability for clients.

The KTP aims to advance the automation level of design processes and integrate their interfaces with procurement processes and the downstream manufacturing and assembly processes.

Based at Merit Holdings Ltd, Cramlington, you will lead a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) project. You will lead the implementation of this project, transforming Merit’s industrialised construction approach through generative parametric design integrated with BIM workflows and other key processes such as procurement and manufacturing processes. You will capture up-to-date domain knowledge about existing design processes and develop and test generative design processes for selected product lines. You will also embed key manufacturing, logistics and site constraints in your design logic.

You will be supported by an interdisciplinary team from Newcastle University, led by Prof Mohamad Kassem, with expertise in digital construction, construction informatics, software engineering, robotics, and control. You will also have support from a Senior Company Supervisor. At a later stage in the project, you will also interface and collaborate with another KTP Associate specialised in Digital Manufacturing Planning and Control.

Candidates should have MSc or PhD in Design / Computational Design, Architectural Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or a related discipline.

• Develop managerial skills and attend two residential managerial workshops (each of one week duration)
• £4,000 personal training budget
• The opportunity to lead a project, develop project management skills and improve long term career prospects
• Mentoring by a Knowledge Transfer Network Adviser
• Full access to university resources to complete the project
• Ability to work in a largely self-determined way, across the industry-academic partnership
• Opportunities to develop both technical understanding and commercial awareness
• The possibility to study for a higher degree or undertake professional development

The KTP Associate will be an employee of Newcastle University but will spend most of their working time at the company’s premises at 8 Silverton Court, Northumberland Business Park, Cramlington, NE23 7RY and when required at Newcastle University.

The KTP Associate will follow Merit's working hours and holiday procedure.

• The Associate’s working week will be 39 hours. Core hours are 08.00-16.30 Monday– Thursday, 08.00-15.30 Friday.
• Annual Leave applicable to this role is 25 days holiday plus statutory holidays. Merit closes between Christmas and New Year- any working days over this period will come out of holiday entitlement.

Although the contract is fixed term at 15 months, more than 70% of KTP staff gain a permanent job offer by their KTP company.

For more information or informal enquiries, please contact Prof Mohamad Kassem (Mohamad.kassem@newcastle.ac.uk) and Dr Xiang Xie (Xiang.xie@newcastle.ac.uk).

Key Responsibilities

• Undertake personal development activities, including onboarding familiarisation with the company (particularly understanding Merit’s products, challenges, and strategic priorities) and university (KB team)
• Capture and represent the summarised domain knowledge for the design and manufacture of Merit’s products
• Develop specifications for improving the automation of design and its interface with production and procurement through algorithmic design
• Prototype and test the automated design process using both actual industry data and commercial projects in Merit
• Maintain the developed algorithmic design solution and develop operation and training manuals
• Lead the training on the new solution at Merit
• Disseminate and embed the knowledge within Merit to various stakeholders throughout the KTP via reports, presentations, group discussions and workshops
• Prepare publications, case studies and attend conferences

The Person

Knowledge, Skills, and Experience

• Experience in using generative parametric design in an architectural, engineering or industrial context
• Experience in developing parametric design models for architectural, engineering or industrial context
• Experience in using tools such as Rhino/Grasshoppers, Speckle, and Revit
• Ability to develop extensions for Building Information Modelling (BIM) tools
• Experience with using Python for design automation
• Programming and software development in a relevant field
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to communicate at all levels to different stakeholder groups in both academia and industry
• Ability to capture and document the design knowledge and logic using formal languages and frameworks for knowledge capture
• Experience in applying computational design (parametric, generative, or algorithmic) in an engineering context
• Understanding of digital technologies and standards used in Architecture and Construction (BIM, ISO19650)
• Familiarity with open data formats in the AEC sector, such as Industry Foundation Classes (IFC)

Attributes and Behaviour

• Personal motivation and drive
• Excellent organisational and planning skills
• Thrives in a project environment with the ability to work to tight deadlines
• The ability to work independently and collaboratively with colleagues
• The ability to work autonomously and the confidence to lead
• Is a natural problem solver
• Excellent verbal, written and presentation skills

Qualifications

• Candidates should have MSc or PhD in Design / Computational Design, Architectural Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or a related discipline

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society. We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent. We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a silver Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality. We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education. We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe.

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Created on 18/04/2025 by TN United Kingdom