Towing Tank Manager - Civil, Maritime & Environmental Engineering

You will be responsible for the management, day-to-day operation and future development of the first towing tank built in the UK for fifty years. This 138 m by 6 m by 3.5 m facility has a lightweight, winch driven carriage capable of 10 m/s+, the latest instrumentation systems including PIV and motion capture, 12 x 0.5 m wide independent wave paddles able to generate individual wave heights up to 0.7 m as well as a multidirectional seastate over the first 30 m of the tank. A side beach aids wave damping. The tank is located on the Grimshaw designed Boldrewood Innovation Campus as part of the UK's largest dedicated fluids research facility, Building 185.

The tank is used extensively. The Wolfson Unit use it for their consultancy activities. It is available for external hire. It has significant education and outreach function for labs across maritime, mechanical and renewable energy teaching programmes as well as individual and group student projects and University open days. Its advanced instrumentation and modular design make it ideal for research across EPSRC (NWTP facility), InnovateUK, and EU funded projects as well as by a community of University of Southampton academics and PhD students.

As an experienced hydrodynamicist with a strong research and industry background you will lead the future direction of the tank and support the community of users both at Southampton and nationally. We are looking for individuals with strong technical capability who are keen to enthuse the next generation of maritime engineers. Based in the School of Engineering group you will have close links to the Maritime Engineering group and be line managed by the academic lead for the towing tank, Professor Stephen Turnock. You will manage an experienced tank technician and enjoy the opportunity to guide the development of the tank's technical capability within the School of Engineering large facilities and technicians team. Applicants should be able to manage conflicting priorities and time constraints, possess good organisational and time management skills, pay close attention to detail, and have excellent interpersonal skills.

Engineering research at Southampton is in the UK's top 4 by size and quality (REF2021). Equality, diversity and Inclusion is central to the ethos in the University and within School of Engineering. We particularly encourage women, Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME), LGBTQ+ and disabled applicants to apply for this position. We give full consideration to applicants that wish to work flexibly including part-time and due consideration will also be given to applicants who have had career breaks for reasons including maternity, paternity or adoption leave, disability or illness. The University has a generous maternity policy (subject to qualifying criteria) and onsite childcare facilities. Both the University of Southampton and Chemistry are proud to hold Athena Swan Silver Awards.

For informal inquiries about this post please contact Professor Stephen Turnock ( srt@soton.ac.uk ).

This position is being offered on a full-time, permanent basis.

We aim to be an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all sections of the community.