Technician: Chromatography, Mass Spectrometry and Elemental Analysis Facility

Role Description

Department 

The Department of Chemistry seeks a Technician (Grade 5) to provide technical support across the Chromatography, Mass Spectrometry and Elemental Analysis (CME) services within the Chemistry Analytical Facility. 

The Department of Chemistry at the University of York is one of the UK's leading Chemistry departments and we are renowned internationally for our research. This is combined with a commitment to teaching and outstanding student satisfaction, and we have been recognised consistently for our family-friendly policies and are proud of our Athena SWAN Gold Award. As a Department 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. We promote good practice and a strong culture of equality in higher education. The University is a founding signatory of the Technician Commitment and the Department is committed to increasing the visibility, recognition, career development and sustainability of technicians: 

Role 

Working under the direction of the CME Facility Technical Manager, the post holder will be responsible for the operation and maintenance of a range of chromatography (LC and GC) systems and associated equipment. The post holder will also provide support for the Micro-analysis service (approximately 0.2 FTE) and the Mass Spectrometry service (approximately 0.2 FTE). This role requires the post holder to work collaboratively with the technical team, academics, research staff, and students to deliver flexible, high-quality technical support while fostering positive working relationships across the department. 

Core responsibilities include:

1. Assisting with regular maintenance tasks and service coordination, checking instrument status and liaising with service engineers under the guidance of senior technicians.
2. Delivering customised training in the operation of the instrumentation, appropriate for students and members of technical and academic staff 
3. Assisting service users with the modification of existing experiments and the development of new methods
4. Communicating with external partners to plan, coordinate and deliver analytical work, ensuring requirements, timelines and results are effectively managed.
5. Contributing to the delivery of technical provision in the Department as required, for example, health and safety initiatives and Green Impact Laboratory Accreditation (GILA)
6. Setting up equipment and local IT infrastructure for use in a laboratory environment

This post is available at 100% FTE on an open contract. Please note that flexible working patterns and job sharing opportunities will be considered. 

Skills, Experience & Qualifications needed 

• (HNC, HND, degree or equivalent experience) with a commitment to professional registration (e.g. RSciTech/EngTech) and ongoing professional development.
• Experience operating, maintaining and troubleshooting analytical instrumentation, particularly chromatography (HPLC/UHPLC/GC) and/or mass spectrometry systems.
• Demonstrable technical competence in performing complex laboratory techniques to a high standard, with strong attention to detail and an understanding of laboratory health and safety requirements (including COSHH and risk assessment).
• Experience of supporting and training users in the safe and effective use of analytical instrumentation and associated laboratory techniques.
• Strong organisational skills, with the ability to plan and manage workloads, use initiative, solve technical problems and work effectively both independently and as part of a team.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to interpret technical information, explain complex concepts clearly, and build positive working relationships with colleagues, researchers, students and external partners.
• Good IT and data handling skills, including the use of standard office software and, ideally, experience of chromatography or mass spectrometry data analysis software.

 Interview date: To be confirmed

For informal enquiries: please contact Dr Drew Szabo (Technical Manager - CME), Drew.Szabo@york.ac.uk or Dr Hannah Briers (Deputy Technical Operations Manager) hannah.briers@york.ac.uk

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

As a Disability Confident employer, we will ensure that a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants that meet the minimum (essential) criteria for each position will be offered an interview.  Read more about the University of York’s commitments under the Disability Confident scheme.