Research Associate in Sustainable Electronic Textiles

About the role

Are you a postdoctoral e-textiles researcher who wants to improve the environmental impact and sustainability of future e-textile development?

We are seeking a researcher to translate novel material and component innovations for e-textiles into functioning embedded computing systems that can be validated with stakeholders such as designers and end users. Working at the heart of a major EU project, you’ll be collaborating with world-leading scientists, engineers, and designers to embed sustainability into e-textile research.

What you would be doing

This postdoctoral post will primarily be assisting with the building and testing of new technologies developed with partners on the EU-funded STELEC project (stelec.eu), looking at how they are integrated into full e-textile systems for wearables or other applications. This will include circuit design, fabrication using a mix of electronics and textiles approaches, electromechanical characterisation, and user testing.

You will be developing the next generation of textile-based electronics for applications. Your mission will be to evaluate how these developed technologies could be integrated into textile-based embedded computing systems.

You will work across disciplines - bridging the gap between creative design and technical engineering - to understand the environmental and social impacts of e-textiles. You’ll build prototypes, validate new technologies with users and designers, and identify opportunities for improvement. Your findings will inform practical tools and resources to help others building prototypes that will reduce the harm caused by electronics and textile manufacturing.

What we are looking for

We welcome applications from backgrounds in textile or fashion design, computing and engineering. You don’t need to tick every box to apply – but above all you’ll be curious, collaborative, and ready to work across disciplines to make a tangible difference.

You will bring many of the following:

• The ability to design and build the supporting circuitry for embedded sensing systems.
• Fabrication skills in garment construction and/or textile design.
• Evaluating the quantitative performance of an embedded sensing system.
• Experience in conducting human-computer interaction user studies.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to translate complex information into clear, actionable guidance.

We believe innovation is stronger when it draws on diverse perspectives. We particularly welcome applications from women and other groups underrepresented in STEM, and we are committed to creating an environment where everyone can thrive.

What we can offer you

• The opportunity to continue your career at a world-leading institution and be part of our mission to continue science for humanity within the e-Body Lab.
• Grow your career: gain access to Imperial’s sector-leading dedicated career support for researchers
• Sector-leading salary and remuneration package (including 41 days off a year and generous pension schemes).
• Be part of a diverse, inclusive and collaborative work culture with various staff networks and resources to support your personal and professional wellbeing.

Further Information

This is a full-time post (35 hours per week), fixed term for 24 months to start no later than August.

As part of the application, you should include a publication or other technical documentation of one project that best demonstrates your skills in prototyping and evaluating an e-textile system. In your cover letter provide a summary of your project clearly identifying your contribution if it was delivered by a team and the larger context in which the project was developed.

If you require any further details about the role, please contact: Rebecca Stewart – r.stewart@imperial.ac.uk.