Acknowledgement of Country

CSIRO acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land, sea and waters, of the area that we live and work on across Australia. We acknowledge their continuing connection to their culture and pay our respects to their Elders past and present. View our vision towards reconciliation

The Opportunity

• Are you an early career researcher looking to jumpstart your career with a background in electrical or chemical engineering?
• Do you have experience with automated control systems, gas handling devices and protype design, construction and commissioning phases including HAZOP processes?
• Join CSIRO's Manufacturing team for this exciting and important 3 year Engineering Fellowship role

CSIRO Early Research Career (CERC) Postdoctoral Fellowships provide opportunities to scientists and engineers who have completed their doctorate and have less than three years of relevant postdoctoral work experience. These fellowships aim to develop the next generation of future leaders of the innovation system.

The CSIRO Applied Porous Materials and Automation and Sensing Teams are together seeking an early career researcher looking to jumpstart their career with a background in electrical or chemical engineering to join the team on a continuing basis.  This team has a rich array of fundamental and applied projects underway and is seeking to appoint an Engineering Fellow future leader who can not  only deliver the project at hand but be open to developing leadership skills.  

5% of the world’s population experience a form of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Examples include emphysema and chronic bronchitis, and almost all smokers have a form of COPD. Patients with more severe forms of COPD require higher levels of oxygen to breathe. Initially this came from gas cylinders, but in recent years, personal oxygen concentrator devices (POCs) have emerged.

Recently, the team were very fortunate to discover a new adsorbent material derived from a metal organic framework (MOF) that can directly adsorb oxygen, reversibly. This allows the present game changing engineering opportunity - how can this material be best utilised in the real world? Individuals have widely varying oxygen uptake requirements according to their individual limitations, or their present activity level. Whilst this new adsorbent breaks open the energy demands, it is not of use unless a smart engineer can identify the processes required to turn this potential into a device. For example, present POCs operate only for a few hours, and are of a significant size. The successful applicant will be challenged to embody this new material in such a way that a new POC is no larger than a phone, clipped to a belt, and lasts 24 hours. Key researchers from CSIRO linked to this project are Matthew Hill and Andrew Tulloh.  

Your duties will include:

• Preparing a proof-of-concept oxygen concentrator capable of delivering performance data requisite for design a full-scale prototype.
• Exploring control systems capable of responding to the behaviour of the user.
• Developing a smart personal oxygen concentrator with minimised energy usage and optimal ergonomics. 
• Carrying out innovative, impactful research of strategic importance to CSIRO that will, where possible, lead to novel and important scientific outcomes.
• Utilising design thinking methodology to plan and prepare research proposals, and apply non-academic impact methodology to research projects

Location: Clayton, Victoria
Salary: AU$89k - AU$98k plus up to 15.4% superannuation
Tenure: Specified term of 3 years
Reference:  86883

To be considered you will need:

• A doctorate (or will shortly satisfy the requirements of a PhD) OR hold an engineering degree plus a Master of Science (MSc) or Master of Engineering (MEng) qualifications (or will shortly satisfy the requirements of a masters) plus equivalent levels of original and significant contributions to research and development to that expected of someone of a new PhD graduate. The doctorate or masters must be in a relevant discipline area, such as Electrical or Chemical Engineering.
  Please note: To be eligible for this role you must have no more than 3 years (full time equivalent) of relevant research experience.
• Demonstrated experience with automated control systems.
• Demonstrated experience with gas handling devices.
• Demonstrated experience with protype design, construction and commissioning phases including HAZOP processes. 
• High level written and oral communication skills with the ability to represent the research team effectively internally and externally, including the presentation of research outcomes at national and international conferences
   

For full details about this role please view the Position Description

Eligibility

Applications for this position are open to Australian/New Zealand Citizens, Australian Permanent Residents or Australian temporary residents currently residing in Australia and be able to commence in the role by 31 January 2023.

Appointment to this role is subject to provision of a national police check and may be subject to other security/medical/character requirements.

Flexible Working Arrangements

We work flexibly at CSIRO, offering a range of options for how, when and where you work. 

Diversity and Inclusion

We are working hard to recruit people representing the diversity across our society, and ensure that all our people feel supported to do their best work and feel empowered to let their ideas flourish. 

About CSIRO

At CSIRO Australia's national science agency, we solve the greatest challenges through innovative science and technology. We put the safety and wellbeing of our people above all else and earn trust everywhere because we only deal in facts. We collaborate widely and generously and deliver solutions with real impact. 

Join us and start creating tomorrow today!

How to Apply

Please apply on-line and provide a cover letter and CV that best demonstrate your motivation and ability to meet the requirements of this role.

Applications Close

31 August 2022, 11:00pm AEST