Heriot-Watt University
Senior Laboratory Technician (Paleoceanography)
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Role: Senior Laboratory Technician (Paleoceanography)
Grade and Salary: Grade 6 - £31,236 - £36,636 per annum
Contract Type: Full Time (1FTE), Fixed Term for 6 months. Part-time working is available.
Holiday Entitlement: 33 days annual leave plus 9 buildings-closed days (and Christmas Eve when it falls on a weekday)
Purpose of Role
The role will be supporting an UKRI funded Future Leaders Fellowship 'Fate of ocean oxygenation in a warming world', project with Professor Babette Hoogakker (Lyell Centre, Heriot-Watt University).
The project will involve proxy reconstructions of seawater oxygen levels and outreach work.
The individual will provide technical and logistical support. The applicant would be processing and analysing samples from marine sediment cores and require as a minimum a first degree (MSc desirable) in earth and ocean sciences (includes marine geology, oceanography, or marine biogeochemistry) and experience of working in a laboratory.
Key Duties & Responsibilities
To support ongoing research on oxygen levels in the oceans and provide specialist technical support in paleoceanographic research, liaising directly with the line manager.
Duties will involve:
- Sample preparation (weighing, sieving, drying of sediment samples),
- Identifying and picking of foraminifera,
- Carrying out sedimentary and specialist foraminifera geochemical analyses in laboratory,
Education, Qualifications and Experience
Essential
- A degree in environmental/earth and ocean sciences, including oceanography, marine biology, geology, biogeochemistry
- Experienced in identification of benthic and planktonic foraminiferal species
- Analytical and technical problem solving skills
- IT skills, proficient in the use of computers and general software
- Good communication and presentation skills
- Team player with good interpersonal skills
- Demonstrate self-motivation and desire to achieve the objectives agreed with managers working towards the strategic goals set by the school
- Demonstrable ability to work quickly, flexibly and accurately in a dynamic, changing and pressured environment
- Demonstrable professional and proactive approach
- Willingness to travel and perform laboratory work with partner institutes
Desirable
- A MSc degree in paleoceanography
- Working experience in applying palaeoceanographic proxies, including running specialist laboratory equipment
- Working towards deadlines
- Analytical and technical problem-solving skills
- Experience of relevant health and safety protocols
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How to Apply
Applications can be submitted up to 11:55pm (UK time) on Thursday 13th August 2026.
Please submit your CV & covering letter via the Heriot-Watt on-line recruitment.
We welcome and will consider flexible working patterns e.g., part-time working and job share options.
Heriot-Watt University is committed to securing equality of opportunity in employment and to the creation of an environment in which individuals are selected, trained, promoted, appraised, and otherwise treated on the sole basis of their relevant merits and abilities. Equality and diversity are all about maximising potential and creating a culture of inclusion for all.
Heriot-Watt University values diversity across our university community and welcomes applications from all sectors of society, particularly from underrepresented groups. For more information, please see our website https://www.hw.ac.uk/uk/services/equality-diversity.htm and also our award-winning work in Disability Inclusive Science Careers https://disc.hw.ac.uk/.
Use our total rewards calculator: https://www.hw.ac.uk/about/work/total-rewards-calculator.htm to see the value of benefits provided by Heriot-Watt University.
About the Team
The School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society (EGIS) provides a collaborative research and teaching environment organised into our five institutes:
- Institute of Sustainable Built Environment (ISBE) [https://www.hw.ac.uk/about/our-schools/energy-geoscience-infrastructure-and-society/research-institutes/sustainable-built-environment]
- The Institute of Life and Earth Sciences (ILES) [https://www.hw.ac.uk/about/our-schools/energy-geoscience-infrastructure-and-society/research-institutes/life-and-earth-sciences]
- The Institute of GeoEnergy Engineering (IGE) [https://www.hw.ac.uk/about/our-schools/energy-geoscience-infrastructure-and-society/research-institutes/geoenergy-engineering]
- TUI and ISPHERE have been replaced by the Institute for Place, Environment and Society [https://www.hw.ac.uk/about/our-schools/energy-geoscience-infrastructure-and-society/research-institutes/place-environment-and-society]
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In addition to our four institutes, the International Centre for Island Technology (ICIT) [https://www.hw.ac.uk/about/our-schools/energy-geoscience-infrastructure-and-society/research-institutes/life-and-earth-sciences/international-centre-for-island-technology] in Orkney [https://www.hw.ac.uk/campuses/orkney] is a specialised arm of the Institute of Life and Earth Sciences.
Our Programmes
Within our core disciplines we offer research-led programmes of undergraduate [https://www.hw.ac.uk/about/our-schools/energy-geoscience-infrastructure-and-society/study-with-us/undergraduate-study] and postgraduate [https://www.hw.ac.uk/about/our-schools/energy-geoscience-infrastructure-and-society/study-with-us/postgraduate-study] study, many of which provide professionally-accredited qualifications. Our programmes are often highly rated in national surveys [https://www.hw.ac.uk/study/why-study-at-heriot-watt/our-rankings]. Consequently, our graduates are highly sought after by employers worldwide.
We pride ourselves on our international activities. Many of our programmes are also offered at our Dubai Campus [https://www.hw.ac.uk/dubai] and our Malaysia Campus [https://www.hw.ac.uk/malaysia]. Online [https://www.hw.ac.uk/online/] study is also an option for some postgraduate degrees, facilitating learning in any country in the world.
We strive for excellence in our support to all students studying with us and our staff are committed to providing educational and professional support that is fair, friendly and timely.
About Heriot-Watt University
At Heriot-Watt we are passionate about our values and look to them to connect our people globally and to help us collaborate and celebrate our success through working together. Our research programmes can deliver real world impact which is achieved through the diversity of our international community and the recognition of creative talent that connects our global team.
Our flourishing community will give you the freedom to challenge and to bring your enterprising mind and to help our partners with solutions that can be applied now and in the future. Join us and Heriot Watt will provide you with a platform to thrive and work in a way that also helps you live your life in balance with well-being and inclusiveness at the heart of our global community.
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