Research Associate in Carbon Capture

Job Description

Job Title: Research Associate in Carbon Capture

Posting Start Date: 10/10/2025

Job Id: 1705

School/Department: Chemical, Materials & Biological Eng

Work Arrangement: Full Time (Hybrid)

Contract Type: Fixed-term

Salary per annum (£): ,389

Closing Date: 26/10/2025

The University of Sheffield is a remarkable place to work. Our people are at the heart of everything we do. Their diverse backgrounds, abilities and beliefs make Sheffield a world-class university.

We offer a fantastic range of benefits including a highly competitive annual leave entitlement (with the ability to purchase more), a generous pensions scheme, flexible working opportunities, a commitment to your development and wellbeing, a wide range of retail discounts, and much more.

Overview

The Research Associate will carry out research to investigate the development and scaling of new carbon capture facilities using novel processing and sorbent materials. This will include the characterisation of flow and sorption characteristics within the capture vessel and testing on real flue gases. The successful applicant should have experience of working on live emitter sites at scale. This is an experimental project that will provide purified carbon dioxide for use by other partners in the GBC Centre to produce value-added chemicals.

Main duties and responsibilities

• Work to deliver and test new carbon capture technology at scale.
• Carry out research to determine the physical mechanism of capture.
• Test the new system in the field and at scale at partner emitter sites.
• Produce reports and operational procedures to document the progress and deployment of new systems.
• Work in a team, involving local and national partners and stakeholders to accelerate the deployment of new technologies.
• Carry out other duties, commensurate with the grade and remit of the post.

Person Specification

Our diverse community of staff and students recognises the unique abilities, backgrounds, and beliefs of all. We foster a culture where everyone feels they belong and is respected. Even if your past experience doesn't match perfectly with this role's criteria, your contribution is valuable, and we encourage you to apply. Please ensure that you reference the application criteria in the application statement when you apply.

Criteria

Essential or desirable

Stage(s) assessed at

A PhD in a relevant discipline (or relevant experience)

Essential

Application

Experience of working with pressure vessels at scale.

Essential

Application

Experience of working on live emitter sites with raw flue gases.

Essential

Application

Experience in the construction of test units for laboratory proof of concept studies.

Essential

Application

Laboratory testing and evaluation of sorbent materials and model systems.

Essential

Application

Excellent IT skills, including Microsoft Office packages, webpage development, data sharing and social networking

Desirable

Application

Effective communication skills including writing of promotional material, grant proposals, reports and minutes

Essential

Application

Ability to work as part of a team.

Essential

Application

Ability to develop creative approaches to problem solving.

Essential

Application

Availability to travel to emitter sites

Desirable

Application

Further Information

Grade

7

Salary

£37,099 to £45,585 per annum

Work arrangement

Full-time

Duration

01 November 2025 to 31 October 2028

Line manager

Professor Peter Styring

Direct reports

Professor Peter Styring

Our website

For informal enquiries about this job contact Professor Peter Styring, GBC Centre Director: at or on

Next steps in the recruitment process

It is anticipated that the selection process will take place in October 2025. This will consist of a short presentation and questions during an interview following the shortlisting process . We plan to let candidates know if they have progressed to the selection stage as soon as possible following the shortlisting. If you need any support, equipment or adjustments to enable you to participate in any element of the recruitment process you can contact Peter Styring.

Our vision and strategic plan

We are the University of Sheffield. This is our vision: ().

What we offer

• A minimum of 41days annual leave including bank holiday and closure days (pro rata) with the ability to purchase more.
• Flexible working opportunities, including hybrid working for some roles.
• Generous pension scheme.
• A wide range of discounts and rewards on shopping, eating out and travel.
• A variety of staff networks, providing opportunities for social interaction, peer support and personal development (for example, Race Equality, LGBT+, Women's and Parent's networks).
• Recognition Awards to reward staff who go above and beyond in their role.
• A commitment to your development access to learning and mentoring schemes; integrated with our Academic Career Pathways

• A range of generous family-friendly policies

• paid time off for parenting and caring emergencies

• support for those going through the menopause
• paid time off and support for fertility treatment
• and more

We are a Disability Confident Employer. If you have a disability and meet the essential criteria for this job you will be invited to take part in the next stage of the selection process.

We are a research university with a global reputation for excellence. Our ideas and expertise change the world for the better, making a real difference to society. We know that when people come together with different views, approaches and insights it can lead to richer, more creative and innovative teaching and research and the highest levels of student experience. Our University Vision ) outlines our commitment to building a diverse community of staff and students that recognises and values the abilities, backgrounds, beliefs and ways of living for everyone.