Research Support Technician in Robotics

Do you want to contribute improving patients' quality of life by facilitating the creation of innovative robots to treat incurable diseases?

Do you want to join an international team of outstanding roboticists and clinicians?

We are looking for a professional and proactive individual with a good team-working ethos to support our research at the Science and Technology of Robotics in Medicine (STORM) Lab. You will have a varied and exciting role supporting world leading research in the area of surgical robotics. You will be a key member of the STORM lab team and be responsible for passing on your technical experience, maintaining the software code developed for our surgical robots, managing laboratory equipment and health and safety for the Lab. At the STORM Lab, we strive to improve the quality of life of people undergoing soft-tissue surgery and flexible endoscopy by creating miniature and non-invasive robots. The continuous progression of technology is enabling miniature capsule- or snake-like robots to work inside the human body. At the STORM Lab, we are designing and creating soft and compliant robotic devices to be used inside specific districts of the human body to detect and cure diseases in a more effective and less invasive way.

The STORM Lab is a 100m2 dedicated research space equipped with µm-resolution rapid prototyping machines, three medical-grade robotic arms, a full surgical robot, haptic interface devices, a variety of precision linear stages and force sensors, and a full Olympus flexible endoscopy system. An extraction hood and a vacuum oven allow for silicone and other soft polymers casting and moulding. Data acquisition boards are available to read sensors and control actuators. You will be directly involved with our advanced robotic platforms, including the Intuitive Surgical daVinci Research Kit (dVRK) and our magnetic flexible endoscope (MFE). The University of Leeds is the only UK University outside London to have a da Vinci Surgical Robot to be used for technology-oriented research. We also have a strong industrial collaboration with KUKA and we use their LBR Med robots as we move our MFE platform towards first-in-human trials.

To explore the post further or for any queries you may have, please contact: Pietro Valdastri, PhD, Professor of Robotics and Autonomous Systems Tel: +44 (0)113 343 3706 or email: p.valdastri@leeds.ac.uk