Research Assistant Making Microbes Matter

Salary:33002.00 - 34610.00 per annum

Newcastle University is a great place to work with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 8 December 2025

The Role

Do you have skills to help apply cutting edge metagenomics to wastewater treatment We seek a full time junior research assistant (JRA) or post-doctoral research associate (PDRA) with a background or training in either microbial ecology or environmental engineering or another quantitative academic discipline. You will help collect and analyse metagenomic data from UK wastewater treatment plants and to use that analysis to improve reliability reduce emissions and explore our theoretical understanding of the microbial ecology of wastewater treatment. This work will form a key component of the recently awarded OFWAT Innovation Making Microbes Matter project an ambitious research program aiming to transform the UKs wastewater treatment processes through detailed microbial understanding and optimization.

You will work closely with a highly experienced PDRAs in Newcastle and enthusiastic and rigorous collaborators in the UK water industry.

Your primary roles will be threefold.

• Firstly to set up rigorous systems for the curation storage of samples and metadata based on best international practice.
• Secondly to set up lab systems for the analysis of the samples including the extraction of the nucleic acids flow cytometry and analogous procedures as required. Other procedure might include for example examination of the kinetics of greenhouse gas production.
• Thirdly you will work with your academic and industrial partners to relate findings to the performance of and emissions from wastewater treatment plants. You and your team will use these analyses to make recommendations for practitioners.

A well organised rigorous and quantitative approach is highly desirable. The successful candidate must work well with our partners in Newcastle and in industry and to present and to publish their research internationally.

If you are considering relocating to join us should you be successful in your application you can find out about our relocation package options here.

Please contact Prof Tom Curtis () or Ben Allen () or Mathew Brown () for further details.

Please apply with a short covering letter and your Curriculum Vitae (CV)

Key Accountabilities

• To organise and run the reception processing and curation of project samples
• To work in a team on the analysis of the data to gain insights into process emmissions reliability and underlying science of wastewater treatment
• To enhance (PDRA) or learn (junior research associate) the protocols for the rigorous analysis of metagenomic data in a wastewater context
• Liaise with other members of the team in Newcastle and our industrial collaborators
• Present research findings at project meetings national and international conferences
• Support the projects adminstrative and management duties such as organising meetings workshop planning etc
• Aid in the supervision of PhD and MSc research students (PDRA only)
• Write peer reviewed publications and reports
• Assist with the day-to-day running of the lab

The Person

Knowledge Skills and Experience

• A commitment to safe working in the laboratory and in the field
• Good basic laboratory skills relevant to the role
• Ability to critically analyse data using a variety of computational tools
• A systematic and rigorous approach to work
• Excellent and rigorous record keeping
• Excellent written and verbal skills
• FOR PDRA Experience in metagenomics/microbial ecology
• FOR PDRA Established ability to write high impact research papers

Desirable

• Sound understanding of wastewater treatment design and kinetics
• A sound grasp of the use of mathematical modelling
• Ability to use command line tools with confidence
• Experience of coding and analysis in R or similar language

Attributes and Behaviour

• Ability to work in a team
• A commitment to maintaining and enhancing our research culture
• A good level of personal organisation
• The ability to take the initiative in pursuit of agreed objectives
• Willingness to work flexibly (when appropriate) by mutual agreement
• Willingness to supervise Undergraduate Masters and PhD students
• Clear commitment to a career in research
• Willingness to travel and visit project partners

Desirable

• Scientific curiosity
• Willingness to work under pressure to achieve agreed deadlines
• A desire to create sustainable technologies for environmental protection

Qualifications

• A higher degree such as masters in Environmental Engineering or a PhD in a relevant field (Research Associate level)

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. As a University of Sanctuary we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society. We value diversity as well as celebrate support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent. We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a goldAthena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality. We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC. We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe.

Requisition ID: 28783