Location: FAAM Airborne Laboratory, Cranfield, Milton Keynes
Salary: £35,333 to £42,155 p.a.
Contract length: Fixed Term (to 31 March 2026 (due to external funding))
Contract type: Full Time
Closing date: Midnight on Wednesday 9 November 2022

Are you highly motivated with experience working in physical science or engineering with excellent communications skills? Would you like to develop technical and scientific documentation as part of the transformative FAAM Airborne Laboratory Mid-Life Upgrade project? 

The FAAM Airborne Laboratory is a world-class research facility dedicated to the advancement of atmospheric science. FAAM operates a specially adapted BAe-146 4-engine research aircraft managed by a unique team of scientists, engineers, flight technicians and project managers providing a complete package of support for the scientific community. The capabilities are extensively reliant on state-of-the-art scientific instrumentation, often uniquely customised for use on the aircraft, which is deployed throughout the world.

FAAM’s measurement and operational capabilities are continually evolving, and management of this modification process has to be carried out effectively, against both time and budget constraints. The exciting FAAM Mid-Life Upgrade (MLU) project aims to deliver a range of upgrades and enhancements to the scientific capabilities of the aircraft, its measurement capabilities and its research impact, extending its useful life by at least 20 years.

The MLU is an ambitious 4-5 year £50m project to rebuild significant parts of the aircraft systems, and carry out a comprehensive upgrading of the aircraft’s scientific and operational capabilities. Successful delivery will require working closely with major stakeholders, including BAe Systems as aircraft Design Authority, engineering suppliers and the aircraft’s scientific user community. The entire project will comprise several hundreds of individual aircraft modifications, each of which will need to be properly documented and recorded.

You will have a Technical Writer background and a bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in physical science, engineering or related field. The role is a first for FAAM and will be ideal for a motivated person who is keen to make a valuable contribution to the development of an internationally significant project. 

The post will be employed by the University of Leeds and will be based within the FAAM team on the campus at Cranfield University.  

Find out more and make your application.

To explore the post further or for any queries you may have, please contact: 

Stephen Devereau, Mid Life Upgrade Director, FAAM Airborne Laboratory

Email: steve.devereau@faam.ac.uk