Materials Scientist

Materials Scientist

Company:               Morgan Advanced Materials

Facility:                  Stourport-on-Severn, Worcestershire, UK

Role Profile:           Materials Scientist

Reports To:            Leader - Centre of Excellence

Morgan Advanced Materials is a world leader in advanced materials development and production. We produce a wide range of specialist, high specification materials that have extraordinary attributes and properties. Despite the complexity of our technologies, our focus is simple – we supply innovative, differentiated products made from advanced materials which enable our customers’ products to perform more efficiently, more reliably and for longer.

Material science is pivotal to our Company’s success as it is a key constituent to developing our distinctive competencies that differentiate our business from the competition.

The Structural Ceramics Centre of Excellence has been established to better serve our global customers by developing new, differentiated materials technologies for structural ceramics applications. The Centre of Excellence will take the lead in innovating new formulations and processes, serve as a hub for academic collaboration on structural ceramics with key university faculties worldwide, and act as a focal point for R&D with raw material suppliers. It will allow Morgan to focus on both idea generation and execution in one integrated facility, with the ultimate aim of maximising the performance of our customers’ applications and processes.

This role will support our development activities across the COE and have a direct impact into our manufacturing sites. The role will involve a combination of experimental materials development, characterization, process optimization, and the application of modelling and simulation tools where appropriate. This covers a broad range of Morgan’s products and processes and hence a candidate is sought with a solid grounding in ceramic engineering. 

Principal Objectives

• Provide the key materials science expertise into development programmes to enhance material, process, or product performance.
• Apply modelling and simulation tools, where appropriate, to support R&D, to enhance understanding of material behaviour and ceramic processing, to contribute to product development, and process optimisation initiatives.
• Support the definition and planning of technology development programmes to achieve success.
• To design, organise and carry out material development, production and processing trials at laboratory, pilot and production scales.
• To assess, analyse and interpret development results, adapting and iterating project activities to achieve the desired outcomes within an optimised timescale.
• Ensure high standards of operational management including measurement control and data recording. Where necessary to develop new or improved development or testing methods.
• To apply existing knowledge of materials and processes so as to maximise benefits to the business through increased sales revenue and lower operating costs.
• To develop quicker and more efficient routes and processes for materials development
• To identify, quantify and communicate improvement opportunities relating to materials science and manufacture.
• Building links with technology contacts both within and external to the Morgan portfolio.
• Support and enhance the company’s commitment to the highest standards of Health and Safety and ensure all policies are adhered to during daily working.
• Investigate and resolve technical issues that may arise in the manufacturing process or products.

Requirements

• Educated to degree level or higher in Materials Science, Engineering or a closely related scientific field. A PhD degree or equivalent is desirable.
• Candidates with proven experience and expertise with ceramic processing is desirable.
• Practical experience in a lab-based environment and characterising materials, e.g. mechanical & electrical properties, X-Ray diffraction and imaging techniques
• Experience in design of experiments is advantageous.
• Can understand and analyse complex data. Is able to spot flaws and trends and work around these.
• Experience with programming languages such as Python is desirable. 
• Experience with materials modelling, ceramic systems modelling, or related simulation techniques using modelling tools like ANSYS and/or Abaqus would be advantageous.
• Ability to self-manage and work well in a fast-paced collaborative team environment
• Ability to plan work according to business need and technical strategy
• Able to communicate with different departments, customers, suppliers, and service providers as required
• Able to apply scientific reasoning to complex industrial situations
• Able to locate & exploit relevant technology from other industries

Attributes

• Willing to offer a ‘hands on’ approach 
• Willing to travel nationally and internationally 

• Committed to working safely and adhering to established safe working practices.

• Be a self- motivated and proactive individual
• Work effectively with people beyond their educational / age / background peer group
• Be able to work as part of a team
• Be able to communicate effectively with people at all levels
• Pursue continuous improvement, both in the workplace and in their own skills & knowledge
• Be customer and supplier facing
• Encourage and develop others to achieve personal and team objectives

Morgan Advanced Materials is a business rich in history and innovation. Founded in the UK in 1856, we have grown into a global organisation with 70 sites in 18 countries. Our model to serve our customers where they need us has led to a diversified product range using our unparalleled expertise in ceramic and carbon materials, which we exploit to solve difficult problems for our customers across a diverse range of markets.

We are a purpose driven organisation. Our purpose is to use advanced materials to make the world more sustainable and to improve the quality of life. We deliver on that purpose through the products that we make, and the way that we make them.

The Technical Ceramics business of Morgan Advanced Materials engineers high performance functional and structural ceramic materials, components and sub-assemblies to address customer-specific technical challenges.

Key Figures: Revenue £1,100.7m (2024), ~8,000 employees, manufacturing in 20+ countries, and a global customer portfolio. A UK PLC with head office located in Windsor, Berkshire UK.  Listed on London Stock Exchange; Member of the FTSE 250 Index.

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Morgan Advanced Materials is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees and applicants. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, national origin, veteran status, or any other legally protected status. Ind-1