Senior Technician - EPS Technical Services presso Heriot-Watt University

Role: Senior Electronics Workshop Technician

Grade and Salary: Grade 6, £31,236 - £36,636 per annum

FTE and working pattern: 1FTE, 35hrs per week, Monday - Friday

Holiday Entitlement: 33 days annual leave plus 9 buildings closed days (and Christmas Eve when it falls on a weekday)

Purpose of Role

An experienced electronics technician is required to provide high quality technical support for research and teaching groups within the school of EPS working as part of the Electronics Workshop team. The roleholder will be heavily involved in undergraduate student projects and demonstration of electronic equipment and experiments. Your role will require you to provide design, construction and fabrication support in the production and maintenance of specialised bespoke laboratory systems and equipment. 

You will have 3-5 years post apprentice experience in a workshop environment - not necessarily in a teaching or research context. The holder will work between several research laboratories and a technical workshop and will be expected to be skilled in the use of a wide range of electronic test equipment and data acquisition equipment.  You should also possess excellent communication and interpersonal skills, and the ability to interact positively with a broad range of people.

Reporting to the workshop supervisor the successful candidate should have previous experience gained in a busy engineering research, teaching or commercial environment and possess a proven track record of problem solving.

The role holder will work as part of an integrated electronics and mechanical workshop team supplying a service of electronic design of digital and analogue circuitry, production and fabrication of equipment, maintenance and repair of various electronic circuits and equipment for both teaching and research purposes.

The post includes the day-to-day responsibility for all aspects related to health and safety of staff and students within the workshop areas.

The Role holder will be expected to be flexible in the hours worked normally 8:30am to 4:15pm Monday to Friday working on average 35 hours per week. Occasional work at weekends may be required for Open Days, student events etc. The GRID building is a new concept in student training and variation to working practices will evolve over the coming semesters to allow the best student training contact for teaching development.

For further enquires please contact John Mason (Senior Technical Services Manager), Heriot-Watt University: email [email protected] or telephone 0131 451 4074.

Key Duties & Responsibilities

1. Design, production and fabrication of various electronic analogue and digital circuits and equipment. This includes the ability to take a job through from basic idea, design, costing, building and testing to completion with minimal instruction.
2. Investigate novel techniques, materials, etc. to support research project outputs.
3. Work closely with academic, research and other technical staff to develop bespoke electronics and electrical solutions, to support research project outputs.
4. Provide technical support to students on the design of equipment, offering ideas and solutions where possible.
5. Diagnose faults and undertake repairs/ maintenance on control and measurement equipment, and apparatus used in laboratories.
6. Manufacture component parts and assemblies to a high standard of finish and accuracy as required working within defied timescales and using the full range of electrical tools and equipment.
7. Maintain and service equipment in the workshop, inform workshop supervisor of stock levels.
8. To engage in a process of continuous learning and development, acquiring new skills.
9. To always work with due care and diligence according to the requirements of Health and Safety, quality and other standards and directions relevant to the assigned task. To instruct on the safe use of equipment and to complete COSHH and risk assessments as required and adhere to these throughout working practice.
10. To record working time on job sheets and complete any other necessary administrative duties for the effective running of the workshop e.g., maintain records of equipment.
11. To participate in the school PDR process and undertake training, as necessary.
12. Mentor, train and instruct junior staff.
13. Any other tasks that are commensurate with grading of the post. 

Please note that this job description is not exhaustive, and the role holder may be required to undertake other relevant duties commensurate with the grading of the post. Activities may be subject to amendment over time as the role develops and/or priorities and requirements evolve.

Essential & Desirable Criteria

Essential

1. Educated to SCQF Level 7-8, HNC/HND or equivalent in electrical engineering. 
2. Completion of a recognised electronics workshop apprenticeship plus ideally 3-5 years’ post-qualification work experience.
3. Expert level knowledge of electronic design skills, primarily, circuit design, circuit production, fault-finding and repair, with use of diagnostic equipment including is, power supplies, Signal Generators, oscilloscopes, soldering irons, small hand tools.
4. An aptitude for IT including PCB CAD packages, coding and programming micro controllers.
5. Experience of maintenance and fault finding of equipment.
6. Good planning, team, communication and organisational skills
7. Good understanding of health & safety regulations and procedures and experience of Risk Assessment etc...
8. Able to work effectively as an individual and as a member of a team planning, team communication, and organisational skills.
9. Some manual handling will be involved requiring fitness and physical effort.

Desirable

1. Electronics degree
2. Experience of teaching and managing a class of students, including strong interpersonal skills, pedagogic knowledge, and an ability to provide clear feedback and advice.
3. Experience of laser cutting, 3D printing, small hand tools etc.
4. Experience of risk assessment, COSHH, Safe Systems of Work and lasers.

How to Apply

Applications can be submitted up to midnight (UK time) on Sunday 26^th October 2025.

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 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.