Location: FAAM Airborne Laboratory, Cranfield
Salary: £34,304 – £40,927 p.a. pro rata
Contract length: Fixed Term (until 31 March 2026 due to external funding)
Contract type: Full Time
Closing date: Midnight on Sunday 20 March 2022

Are you highly motivated with experience working as a technical writer? Do you have a background in physical science, engineering or related field? Would you like to develop technical documentation as part of the transformative FAAM Airborne Laboratory Mid-Life Upgrade project?

The FAAM Airborne Laboratory is a unique, highly modified 4-engine jet aircraft adapted to carry a range of unique science instruments, dedicated to supporting the UK atmospheric science community and users of atmospheric science data. The Facility is managed by a unique team of scientists, engineers, flight technicians and project managers forming a complete package of support for the scientific community. The Facility is supported by the National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS) and funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and is an environmental research infrastructure of national and international importance.

The exciting Mid-Life Upgrade (MLU) Programme 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. This plans to meet the ongoing requirements for UK researchers, the Met Office, UK government bodies, commercial organisations and international research bodies.

This represents a 4-5 year project to rebuild significant parts of the aircraft systems, to carry out a comprehensive upgrading of the aircraft’s scientific and operational capabilities with a budget of up to £50m. Successful delivery will require working closely with major stakeholders, including the aircraft design organisation, engineering suppliers and the aircraft’s scientific user community. 

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.

For any queries you may have, please contact:

Stephen Devereau, Mid Life Upgrade Director, FAAM Airborne Laboratory

Email: steve.devereau@faam.ac.uk , Telephone +44 (0) 7500 973201