Technical Specialist in Creative Technologies

Role Description

Department

The School of Physics, Engineering and Technology brings physicists and engineers together to push the frontiers of knowledge, foster innovation and meet the grand challenges facing society. Our aim is to deliver world-leading research in both fundamental and applied areas whilst developing new technologies that work for the public good, in an environment where everyone can thrive.

As a School, equality, diversity, and inclusion are central to our culture and we strive to provide a working environment which allows all staff and students to contribute fully, to flourish, and to excel. We aim to ensure that there is a supportive and egalitarian culture at all levels and across all staff groups and offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements, staff engagement forums, campus facilities and services to support staff from different backgrounds. We are proud to hold Juno Champion and Athena Swan bronze awards, which recognise our commitment to creating an equitable and fully inclusive environment in which staff and students can thrive. We aim to inspire young people to engage with science and engineering through our outreach work.  

CoSTAR LiveLAB, is led by the University of York and based at Production Park in Wakefield. It is one of four new labs specialising in future technologies for the creative industries, including virtual production, CGI, hyper-real sound, augmented reality, and motion capture. The lab focuses on applying these technologies to live events and advancing the UK’s skills and infrastructure to remain at the forefront of this field.

Role

The post holder will manage technical facilities at CoSTAR LiveLAB, supporting research with immersive audio, XR, and virtual production technologies. Responsibilities include maintaining equipment, assisting staff and students, and facilitating demonstrations and training. They will also support research at the York campus. The role requires knowledge of creative technologies and experience with immersive technologies like spatial audio and motion capture. They will lead experimental work, design experiments, ensure lab compliance with health and safety, liaise with staff and service providers, manage lab procedures, analyse data, present technical information, manage budgets, train students and collaborators, and keep up with best practices and new protocols.

Skills, Experience & Qualification needed

• Degree in Music Technology, Interactive Media or related area, or equivalent relevant experience
• In-depth knowledge of immersive technologies
• Understanding of research methodologies relevant to science, engineering and the creative industries
• Competent in the operation and maintenance of specialist immersive equipment 
• Experience of technical training desirable. 
• Experience in the management of technical facilities/equipment desirable. 

Interview date: To be confirmed

For informal enquiries: contact Prof. Gavin Kearney (gavin.kearney@york.ac.uk) or Prof. Helena Daffern (helena.daffern@york.ac.uk)

Condition of employment

This role is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act. Consequently, all applicants will be asked to declare both unspent and spent convictions on their application form.

Appointment of the successful candidate will be conditional on a Disclosure and Barring Service check.

The University strives to be diverse and inclusive  – a place where we can ALL be ourselves.

We particularly encourage applications from people who identify as Black, Asian or from a Minority Ethnic background, who are underrepresented at the University. 

We offer family friendly, flexible working arrangements, with forums and inclusive facilities to support our staff. #EqualityatYork