NPL's world-leading Radiotherapy and Radiation Dosimetry group provides world-class research, calibrations, specialised measurement services and training for the dosimetry of ionising radiation in cancer therapy, industrial sterilisation of medical devices and pharmaceuticals, and radiation protection.

This is an exciting opportunity for a permanent position as an Assistant Scientist at the National Physical Laboratory. The successful applicant will be working as part of the team delivering critical measurement services involving chemical dosimeters. These are made of materials that undergo a chemical change induced by ionising radiation which are then read out at a later stage to determine the delivered dose. The team delivers these services to many critical UK industrial and medical organisations. Our customers include sterilisation plants for food and medical devices. The team also provide assurance to radiotherapy centres through auditing of radiation treatments for cancer therapies.   

As an Assistant Scientist, your main responsibilities will include:   

• Becoming familiar with instruments used to measure radiation and radiation dosimetry 
•  Assisting in the day-to-day running of the laboratory 
• Carrying out the irradiation and readout of dosimeters to a consistently high level of quality 
• Performing calibration tasks, operating test equipment 
• Logging and reporting the analysis and test results 
• Maintaining and caring for laboratory and customer equipment   

Whether you are a school leaver, graduate or someone looking for a career change, if you have the right motivation and work well in a team, we will ensure you have the correct training and support to be successful as a member of this highly motivated group delivering services and research with impact at a national and international level.   

What you will bring to the role:  

• An interest in science and developing a career within a science role   
• Excellent attention to detail   
• Good communication skills, both written and verbal   
• The ability to work as part of a team but also self-motivated to work independently    
• Conscientious within your work   
• A quick learner and the ability adept at solving a wide range of practical problems   

It would be great if you did have:

• A background in science and measurement   
• Planning and delivering measurements to a high standard of quality   
• Practical experience carrying out science experiments, documenting results and writing up conclusions   
• Previous work with or knowledge of radiation   

Full training for the role will be provided, which will include comprehensive health and safety training to work safely with ionising radiation.   

Whilst you will be working closely with the rest of the team, the ability to work independently and, on completion of relevant training, unsupervised, is also required.   

At NPL we learn from each other, respect each other and work together to do better, for ourselves and for our customers. And whilst we’re always looking to stretch beyond what we know, we don’t make things more complicated when there’s no need.   

Please note: Applications will be reviewed, and interviews conducted throughout the duration of this advert therefore we may at any time bring the closing date forward. We encourage all interested applicants to apply as soon as possible.   

We actively recruit citizens of all backgrounds, but the nature of our work in specific departments means that nationality, residency and security requirements can be more tightly defined than others. You will be asked about this throughout the recruitment process. To work at NPL, you will need to obtain BPSS security clearance.