Do you have a PhD in applied physics or engineering or a related discipline?
Are you good at technical and implementation skills?
Do you have aptitude and willingness to learn new skills?
Mo Te Herenga Waka - About Our University
Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University of Wellington is a global-civic university with our marae at our heart. This iho draws off our heritage and is further defined by our turangawaewae, in particular Wellington, Aotearoa, and the Asia-Pacific, all of which are expressed in our position as Aotearoa New Zealand's globally ranked capital city university.
Our core ethical values are respect, responsibility, fairness, integrity, and empathy. These core ethical values are demonstrated in our commitment to sustainability, wellbeing, inclusivity, equity, diversity, collegiality, and openness. With, and as, tangata whenua, we value Te Tiriti o Waitangi, rangatiratanga, manaakitanga, kaitiakitanga, whai matauranga, whanaungatanga, and akoranga.
Korero mo te turanga - About the role
Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University of Wellington is currently recruiting a Post-Doctoral Research fellow on a 24-month fixed term contract. This role will contribute to achieving contracted milestones in a funded MBIE research programme developing high magnetic field electric propulsion for space applications.
In this role, you will work within the Robinson Research Institute’s Space team, under the supervision of Dr Jakub Glowacki (Paihau-Robinson Research Institute) and Dr Tulasi Parashar (School of Chemical & Physical Sciences). You will contribute to the development of an electromagnetic solver for the low-earth orbit plasma-body interaction. The role will require extensive redevelopment of an existing electrostatic particle in cell code used by the team. In particular implementation of coupled magnetic field interaction into the existing program. The work will contribute to the development of open-source libraries within OpenFoam framework focusing on aspects of numerical stability and scalability of the numerical method.
The position may require travelling and the ability to spend substantial time abroad.
O pumanawa - About you
You will be a motivated, customer-focused individual who can take the initiative. You will thrive in this role with an excellent manner with people, an ability to influence and manage conflict, strong attention to detail, and self-management skills. This role is busy, challenging, extremely rewarding and interesting for the individual with the right temperament.
You will be a highly organised self-starter and natural relationship builder, who relishes working autonomously as well as contributing positively to a high performing team. You will need effective time management and forward planning to balance meeting deadlines and maintain a high standard of service to both students and staff. The ability to remain calm under pressure and thrive working with a diverse range of stakeholders.
Key Requirements:
• A PhD in applied physics or engineering or a related discipline, and a deep understanding of the plasma physics
• Excellent technical skills including:
Numerical methods in engineering, particular Finite Element and Finite Volume Method from solver development perspective.
Good understanding of computational fluid dynamic and development of electromagnetic solvers.
Familiarity with Particle in Cell method.
The role requires proficiency in programming, in particular object-oriented programming in C++. Previous experience working with open-source packages as OpenFoam would be beneficial.
• Ability to manage your own research within the context of a larger project
• Excellent oral and written communication, with an established academic publication record.
• Practical implementation skills.
• Self-motivated and able to work in a fast-paced environment alongside other high-performing professional researchers and postgraduate students.
Etahi korero hai awhina i a koe - Why you should join our team
The Paihau-Robinson Research Institute has an international reputation for superconducting engineering, materials physics and manufacturing engineering. We offer a unique opportunity for exceptional staff to assist some of NZ’s top research scientists and engineers working on a range of cutting-edge research projects that involve the development of new concepts in materials and manufacturing - from discovery science through to commercial implementation.
Paihau-Robinson is a diverse, multidisciplinary team that melds innovative engineering and applied physics to build advanced technologies for industry worldwide.
