Research Fellow in Sustainable Process Engineering

Overview

The University of Leeds is offering a fixed-term research fellowship within the School of Chemical & Process Engineering. The position focuses on sustainable process engineering, specifically addressing the decarbonisation of pharmaceutical manufacturing through the development, optimisation, and scale-up of advanced solvent production and purification processes. This project integrates novel membrane separation technologies, mathematical models, and process design to deliver pharmaceutical-grade solvents at industrially relevant scales. The initiative is funded by InnovateUK under the Industrialising UK Bio-based Solvents for Global Medicine Manufacturing program, involving various academic and industrial partners.

What you get

The position provides a salary ranging from £41,885 to £49,798 per annum along with a fixed-term contract lasting for 12 months. Additional benefits include 26 days of holiday plus approximately 16 bank holidays and university closure days, a pension scheme where the university contributes 14.5 percent of the salary, and life assurance. Personnel also gain access to health and wellbeing perks, discounted campus gym memberships, professional development courses, on-site childcare, travel schemes, and shopping discounts.

Requirements

Applicants should possess a strong interest in sustainable processes along with experience in Process Systems Engineering and Sustainability. Candidates should be prepared to work on separation and dehydration system optimisation, mass and energy integration, and integrated process performance evaluation to establish scalable manufacturing routes that reduce energy consumption and improve resource efficiency.

Key dates

The closing date for applications is 2026-11-12.