Land Electro Optic and Infrared (EOIR) Signatures Research Scientist and Engineer

About the job

Summary

As technology continues to advance it is becoming increasingly important for the Armed Forces to evade their enemies with stealth.

The Land Survivability Team are looking for  highly motivated scientists or engineers to support the development of visual and Infrared signatures assessment and camouflage development for UK Land forces.

This role helps the MOD understand the impact of Electro Optic and Infrared (EOIR) signatures across the Land force to support procurement and control operational risk. It produces the research required to steer the development of next generation camouflage, concealment, and deception technologies. It draws together cutting edge modelling and field assessment methods and collaborates across the organisation, wider MOD and engages externally with industry, academia and international partners to effect delivery.

You will be responsible for supporting the continued development of Dstl’s Land measurement, modelling, and analysis capability in the EO and IR wavebands and contributing to the development and delivery of studies requested by customers such as Army Headquarters and Defence Equipment and Support. You will have the opportunity to develop national and international partnerships that support the delivery of Dstl goals.

You will work effectively as part of a research team, liaising with stakeholders and presenting.

Dstl recognises the importance of diversity and inclusion as people from diverse backgrounds bring fresh ideas. We are committed to building an inclusive working environment in which each employee fulfils their potential and maximises their contribution.

We particularly welcome female and ethnic minority applicants and those from the LGBTQI community, as they are under-represented within Dstl at these levels.

Job description

In this role you will:

Impact on the ability of Dstl to deliver high quality impartial advice and assurance to all of its customers, academia, industry and international counterparts.

• Be an enthusiastic problem solver who can define, develop and utilise software and hardware tools to address questions in a fast-evolving area of Defence;
• Develop into an expert user of relevant software modelling packages including CameoSim and TAIThermIR;
• Work as part of a research team to develop and deliver high impact studies in EOIR Land Signatures;
• Work as part of a team to conduct field assessment to gather research data;
• Support the design, development and implementation of new capabilities to provide key advice to the MOD;
• Develop and use a broad network of both internal and external specialists across Dstl to solve complex and non-routine problems;
• Develop a fundamental understanding of the Land war-fighting environment to understand how signatures impact survivability.

Responsibilities

We are looking for someone who has:

• The ability to support the development and execution of EO and IR band research to enable the delivery of high quality outputs in a timely fashion;
• IT literacy with ability to use software packages such as Python and Blender to support data analysis and modelling;
• Analytical skills with the ability to design numerical analysis to understand data;
• Communication skills to create effective professional relationships with scientific, analytical, military and industry partners;
• Planning skills with the ability to establish clear pathways and contingencies to goal completion;
• The ability to think and work innovatively to overcome current and future problems facing defence.

You will be an advocate for continuously improving our tools and methods to make them fit to provide the scientific advice on which our Armed Forces rely.

Essential experience

• Experience of planning and delivering studies;
• Experience of writing reports and giving presentations;
• Desirable;
• A knowledge of EO and IR band measurement and analysis;
• Experience of field data collection methods for EO and IR bands;
• Experience of Unix;
• Experience of Physics based rendering software package;
• Experience of 3D modelling software such as Blender;
• Experience of material measurement methods;
• Experience of the TAIThermIR software package.

Essential skills

• The ability to support the development and execution of EO and IR band research to enable the delivery of high quality outputs in a timely fashion;
• IT literate with ability to use software packages such as Python and Blender to support data analysis and modelling;
• Analytical skills with the ability to design numerical analysis to understand data;
• Communication skills to create effective professional relationships with scientific, analytical, military and industry partners;
• Planning skills with the ability to establish clear pathways and contingencies to goal completion.

Desirable

• Ability to communicate complex technical concepts effectively to non-specialists, including project managers;
• Ability to programme in Python.

Important Information

Our work in defence, security and intelligence requires our employees to be UK Nationals who are able to gain a high level of security clearance to undertake the projects we are involved in to protect us from security threats. For this reason, only UK Nationals will be able to apply for this role. If you are an international or dual-national candidate, and you think you have the skills we need, please consider applying to any of our government, security or defence partners.

This role will require full UK security clearance and you should have resided in the UK for the past 5 years. For some roles Developed Vetting will also be required, in this case you should have resided in the UK for the past 10 years.

Behaviours

We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Communicating and Influencing;
• Working Together;
• Delivering at Pace;
• Leadership;
• Technical skills.

We’ll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• The ability to support the development and execution of EO and IR band research to enable the delivery of high quality outputs in a timely fashion;
• The ability to use software packages such as Python and Blender to support data analysis and modelling;
• Analytical skills with the ability to design numerical analysis to understand data.

Benefits

Dstl’s full range of great benefits can be found in the information pack which includes:

Financial: An excellent pension scheme starting from 26% employer contribution (find out more here). In Year Rewarding Achievement bonuses and thank you vouchers. Rental deposit scheme and cycle to work scheme.

Flexible working: Full flexibility working options include alternative working patterns, compressed hours, job shares and annualised hours. Remote working may be available dependent on role.

Flexible working hours: Ability to bank hours in a 12 month reference period including the ability to accrue and use 3 days per calendar month.

Annual leave: 25 days pro rata (rising to 30 after 5 years) plus 8 public holidays with the ability to buy/sell 5 additional days per annum.

Family: Maternity, adoption or shared parental leave of up to 26 weeks with full pay, an additional 13 weeks statutory pay and a further 13 weeks unpaid

Learning and Development: Dstl encourages and supports charterships, accreditations and provides employees access to fully funded apprenticeships up to level 7 (Masters Degree). Dstl will pay for 2 memberships with relevant bodies/institutions. Employees also have access to Civil Service Learning.

Facilities: Onsite parking, EV Charging points, restaurants, cafés and gyms.

The information pack can be found attached to the job specification on Civil Service Jobs.

Our Diversity Networks

We have a number of support networks to ensure all employees feel supported at work. These include the following:

• Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Network;
• Race, Faith and Culture Network;
• Parents and Carer Support Network;
• Alternative Working Network;
• Gender Equality Network;
• New Starters Network;
• Enabled Network, for people with visible and non-visible disabilities;

Things you need to know

Security

Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check.

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check.

See our vetting charter.

People working with government assets must complete basic personnel security standard checks.

Medical

Successful candidates will be expected to have a medical.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles, and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.

The sift will assess your technical skills in relation to the essential criteria listed in the job profile and will be completed by Tuesday 20th September ‘22.  Interviews will take place after 26 September ‘22.

The interview will consist of a combined Behavioural and Technical interview assessing your skills, experience and behaviours against the essential criteria in the job profile. As part of the assessment you will be asked to give a 5 minute brief summarising why you would be a good fit for the role.

We want you to have your best chance of success in our recruitment process, so If at any stage of the application process you would like help or assistance please contact the Dstl Recruitment Team dstlrecruitment@dstl.gov.uk and we will do all we can to support you

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Nationality requirements

Open to UK nationals only.

This job is not open to candidates who hold a dual nationality.

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission’s recruitment principles.

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative.

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

Name: Dstl Recrutment Team

Email: dstlrecruitment@dstl.gov.uk

Recruitment team:

Email: dstlrecruitment@dstl.gov.uk

Further information

Should you wish to raise a formal complaint about the Dstl recruitment process you should email dstlrecruitment@dstl.gov.uk stating the nature of the issue. We will respond within 5 working days.