Research Associate in Battery Systems (Fixed Term)

About the role:

Are you interested in battery management, degradation, thermal control, or module design? IAAPS are seeking a Research Associate to work on two 3-year European funded projects supporting the design, development and testing of novel battery packs and battery management solutions for electric mobility applications. 

TEMPEST will involve battery performance testing, including leading an investigation into use of alternating current for rapid battery heating (e.g. for cold-starts) and the effect on battery degradation, as well as supporting the design of a BMS (activity led by another partner) which is capable of this functionality. Both ‘wet’ lithium-ion and solid-state battery types will be evaluated in this work. 

Within ENERGETIC you will have an opportunity to design and test a battery module incorporating a range of novel sensors supplied by project partners, including ultrasound sensing (developed at Bath) and internal temperature sensing. The aim of this work is to feed the BMS with new information-rich physical data which can be used to improve battery state estimation.

The successful applicant will be based either at our University campus in Bath, or at the IAAPS Ltd site in north Bristol. Most of the experimental facilities are based at IAAPS Ltd so travel to here will be required routinely. 

This position is offered on a full time basis until August 2026. 

About you:

Our ideal candidate will:

• Hold a PhD degree, or an equivalent professional qualification, in a subject area of direct relevance to the project
• Have previous experience of planning and conducting experimental work, ideally on battery cells, modules or packs
• Have an understanding of battery performance and degradation pathways
• Have an interdisciplinary interest in batteries across electrochemistry, materials, electrical engineering and/or mechanical engineering, and are interested in the links between cell-level effects and system performance in applications
• Be self-motivated, possessing project management and technical communication skills

Mechanical design experience would be an advantage but is not essential as this responsibility can be shared with others.

About us:

The IAAPS research community is a thriving group of over 12 core academics in the Faculty of Engineering, 20 post-doctoral researchers and over 70 PhD research students. The group has strong links with other Faculties, harnessing the benefits of interdisciplinary working to solve the most taxing problems in zero carbon mobility. IAAPS recently opened a new £70m facility in north Bristol boasting state-of-the-art experimental facilities, combining cross-sector academic rigour with commercial focus to deliver industry-facing research.

What we can offer you:

We aim to be an inclusive university, where difference is celebrated, respected and encouraged. We have an excellent international reputation with staff from over 60 different nations and have made a positive commitment towards gender equality and intersectionality receiving a Silver Athena SWAN award . We truly believe that diversity of experience, perspectives, and backgrounds will lead to a better environment for our employees and students, so we encourage applications from all genders, backgrounds, and communities, particularly from under-represented groups, and value the positive impact that will have on our teams. 

We are very proud to be an autism friendly university and are an accredited Disability Confident Leader; committed to building disability confidence and supporting disabled staff .

Find out from our staff what makes the University of Bath a great place to work. Follow us @UniofBath and @UniofBathJobs on Twitter for more information.

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Further details:

Visa information

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Update to our application process

We are constantly seeking to reduce the unconscious bias that enters any assessment process, with the goal of creating an inclusive and equal assessment process. To support this, personal details will be removed from application forms at the initial shortlisting stage.