Research Fellow (CFD Modelling) – School of Metallurgy and Materials – 106902 – Grade 7 Full-time

IGNITE Manufacturing Hub Research Position

School of Metallurgy and Materials, College of Engineering and Physical Sciences

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £36,636 to £46,049 with potential progression once in post to £48,822

Grade: 7

Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to March 2029

Closing date: 8th February 2026

People are at the heart of what we are and do. We want to attract outstanding, inspirational, and talented people, support them to succeed, and celebrate their success. Working at the University of Birmingham gives you access to the best financial and physical resources, a beautiful campus and an intellectually stimulating and diverse community.

The IGNITE Manufacturing Hub is a major collaboration between Swansea University, the University of Birmingham, the University of Warwick, the University of Sheffield and the University of Leicester working alongside industry partners to accelerate the UK's transition to green steel and a fully sustainable manufacturing future. The programme brings together leading expertise to address the technical, economic and societal challenges of transforming steelmaking into a circular, low carbon and high value sector.

IGNITE focuses on three Grand Challenges: developing next generation green-steel products for future manufacturing, enabling a resilient and circular steel supply chain, and advancing Steel as a Service to extend material lifetime and improve long term reuse and recycling. These ambitions are supported by four crosscutting research themes covering sustainable metallurgical design, durability and performance monitoring, servitization enablers, and optimised steel use and reuse.

The post holder will contribute to research and coordination across the IGNITE themes through the development and application of advanced Multiphysics models of the Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) process for sustainable steelmaking. They will help design and refine innovative modelling methodologies, generate high quality computational and analytical insights, and translate these findings into improved process understanding and industrially relevant solutions.

The role will involve working within specified research grants and projects, operating within their modelling specialism, and contributing to the preparation of funding bids. Responsibilities also include analysing and interpreting modelling outputs and experimental data, supporting the generation of new funding opportunities, and contributing to licensing or spin-out activities that demonstrate commercial potential or enhance public understanding of sustainable steelmaking technologies.

Working closely with academic teams at Swansea, Leicester and Warwick, as well as industrial partners across the steel value chain, the post holder will operate within a multidisciplinary environment to support project delivery, reporting and wider programme coordination. They will help drive the development of innovative modelling approaches that accelerate the transition to green steel, strengthen links between modelling and experimental activities, and contribute to pathways for commercial and societal impact as IGNITE shapes the future of sustainable manufacturing in the UK.

The responsibilities may include some, but not all of the responsibilities outlined below.

• Develop research objectives and proposals for own or joint research, with assistance of a mentor if required
• Conduct advanced CFD-based research on Electric Arc Furnace processes, integrating kinetic modelling and supporting model development, validation activities and optimisation studies
• Adapt, extend and maintain modelling, data management and cloud-based exchange systems to enable effective collaboration and delivery across the IGNITE Hub
• Contribute to writing bids for research funding
• Collect, analyse, interpret research data through a variety of research methods, such as scientific experimentation, literature reviews, research interviews
• Apply knowledge in a way which develops new intellectual understanding
• Disseminate research findings for publication, research seminars, presenting talks etc
• Supervise students on research related work and provide guidance to PhD students where appropriate to the discipline
• Contribute to developing new models, techniques and methods
• Undertake management/administration arising from research
• Contribute to Departmental/School research-related activities and research-related administration
• Contribute to enterprise, business development and/or public engagement activities of manifest benefit to the College and the University, often under supervision of a project leader
• Present research outputs, including drafting academic publications or parts thereof, for example at seminars and as posters
• Provide guidance, as required, to support staff and any students who may be assisting with the research
• Address and resolve challenges that may impact the achievement of research objectives and deadlines
• Promotes equality and values diversity acting as a role model and fostering an inclusive working culture.

Hold a Bachelor degree in Science or Engineering discipline relevant to the project or equivalent qualifications.

Hold a PhD, or be close to completion (post-viva) in an area relevant to Mechanical Engineering, Metallurgy, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, Computational Engineering, or a related field.

Prior knowledge, experience and achievements in multi-physics and CFD modelling of Electric Arc Furnace processes—including reaction kinetics, multiphase flow, heat and mass transfer, slag–metal interactions, and data-driven optimisation—are highly desirable.

Experience with relevant CFD tools (e.g. ANSYS Fluent, OpenFOAM, COMSOL).

Knowledge of steelmaking or high-temperature industrial processes.

Experience in electromagnetics, plasma modelling, or kinetic modelling.

Familiarity with optimisation methods or reduced-order modelling.

Demonstrably high level of: analytical capability; ability to communicate complex information clearly; work in an interdisciplinary team; ability to co-ordinate own work with others to avoid conflict or duplication of effort.

Understanding of, and ability to contribute to broader management /administration processes.

Contribute to the planning and organising of the research programme and/or specific research project.

Knowledge of the protected characteristics of the Equality Act 2010, and how to actively ensure in day-to-day activity in own area that those with protected characteristics are treated equally and fairly.