Placement Student — Materials Science

CPI helps make great ideas and inventions a reality. We’re a team of intelligent people using advances in science and technology to solve the biggest global challenges in healthcare and sustainability.

Through our incredible people and innovation infrastructure, we collaborate with our partners in industry, academia, government, and the investment community to accelerate the development and commercialisation of innovative products.

From health technologies and pharmaceuticals to sustainable food and materials innovations, we turn the entrepreneurial spirit and radical thinking of our people and partners into incredible impact that makes our world a better place.

CPI is delighted to be recruiting for a placement opportunity who will join the established and growing Materials Science team within the National Formulation Centre based at NETPark, in Sedgefield.

As a placement student who joins the Materials Science team, you would contribute to applying deep scientific knowledge to link a material’s structure to its application performance, allowing knowledge-based optimisation of material design. You will join a team with world-class scientific credentials and many decades of combined experience across a wide range of industries (for example: coatings, inks, polymers, chemicals, electronics, and biomaterials).

Through a diverse portfolio of projects, you will gain experience across a spectrum of industry applications including sustainable packaging, battery materials, healthcare, personal care, and additive manufacturing (3D printing) and more. As part of a multidisciplinary team, you will be working in our state-of-the-art laboratories formulating and fabricating these next-generation materials, applying the scientific knowledge you have gained from your chemical, physical or engineering degree. 

You will get the opportunity to harness a wide range of quantitative and qualitative property measurement techniques to understand the materials you create. The Materials Science team boasts extensive capability in the areas of microscopy, spectroscopy, chromatography, thermal analysis, surface analysis and mechanical testing. The combination of capability and expertise enables innovative problem-solving approaches to understand materials properties, failure modes, and improve the performance of products & processes.

Some exciting projects the team have recently worked on are:

Chestnut Bio: Biodegradable plastics inspired by nature, for nature

KYMIRA Ltd and Dycotec Materials: Seamlessly integrating flexible, durable biosensors into sportswear

Heatleaf: Innovation for amputees, developing wearable devices to improve lives

The Role:

To present and formally report experimental conclusions and supporting data for internal peer review and submission to clients, to agreed timescales and standards.

To actively engage in hazard studies / SRA studies and discussions, as appropriate to role level. 

To support the set-up, plan and execute experimental / pilot scale runs and analyse, interpret, and report the results of these within agreed timescales and quality standards, and following project/​client requirements. 

To take ownership in agreeing to weekly work plans with the line manager, project manager(s) and other relevant stakeholders, and delivering the plan to the agreed schedule.

To support the maintenance and calibration of equipment to ensure it operates in a safe and efficient manner and is available to meet customer needs.

To maintain consistent and documented compliance with all relevant Safety, Health and Environmental (SHE), quality and best practice requirements.

To keep yourself up to date with developments in areas relevant to role, and/​or legislative and SHE related changes as communicated by senior colleagues, ensuring understanding of these and any associated new best practice, methods, or techniques. 

To take responsibility for general housekeeping of technical areas, to contribute to a safe and healthy workplace. 

You will be studying (or have recently completed) a minimum of HNC or Degree level (or equivalent) in a Scientific/​Engineering discipline. 

You will have demonstrable skills in technical problem solving, with the ability to demonstrate evidence of knowledge sharing and network-building practice across teams or groups. You will be able to apply your own judgement and initiative to the role, as well as an understanding of when to seek advice from colleagues. 

At CPI, we offer a wide range of benefits to our employees, this includes:

• Up to 36 days holiday, including bank holidays – Plus a holiday purchasing scheme
• Generous pension scheme
• Life assurance and accident insurance schemes
• Flexible working
• Learning and Development Opportunities
• Free parking

Find out more about our culture and benefits.

At CPI we work with our partners to translate inventions into products and processes that enhance health and well-being, protect, and improve our environment and increase productivity across industries.

With a deep understanding of innovation processes and funding, outstanding technical expertise, and industry relevant assets, we enable products and processes to be quickly and cost-effectively brought to market. This supports the development of next-generation manufacturing, highly skilled jobs, and economic growth for the UK.

Our partners operate across many diverse markets including pharmaceuticals, speciality chemicals, food and drink, electronics, and transportation. 

The Benefits

At CPI, we offer a wide range of benefits to our employees, including family friendly policies, flexible holidays and holiday purchasing schemes, opportunities for learning and development, generous pension plan, life assurance and accident insurance schemes. 

How to Apply

If you wish to apply for this position, please submit your Cover Letter and CV through our careers page at www​.uk​-cpi​.com/​c​a​reers.

The closing date is Sunday 20 October 2024 at 23:59pm

Interviews are due to be held week commencing 04 November 2024

CPI is an organisation based in the UK. Commencement of employment is conditional to demonstrating right to work in the UK, sponsorship may be available.