Undergraduate Summer Placement 2025
Temporary Research Assistant
New Product Development
Physics
12 Weeks, commencing May/June 2025
Wick, Caithness

Company Overview
KP Technology Ltd is an award-winning research and instrumentation company based in Wick, Scotland. We design and manufacture state-of-the-art Kelvin Probe and Air Photoemission Spectroscopy (APS) systems for materials and semiconductor material research across multiple sectors, including solar energy, nanotechnology, traditional and organic semiconductors, perovskites, devices, metals and alloys. Our customer base includes NASA, ESA, CSA, Samsung, Sony, Infineon, Qcells, First Solar, MIT, Stanford, Berkeley. Our products are used extensively in the characterisation of material energy levels in organic devices including novel solar cells.

Location
This is a unique opportunity to combine working on impactful physics research with enjoying the long summer evenings in the north of Scotland. Whether you enjoy remote walks, wildlife watching, or more demanding outdoor pursuits, there are many ways to enjoy the open skies, wild beaches and stunning coastlines of Caithness. 

Activities
Such as surfing, kayaking, snorkelling, sea swimming, diving, sailing, fishing, hiking, cycling, wildlife watching and photography are all possible close to the company base in Wick. While small, the town itself is well equipped with a choice of supermarkets, pubs and restaurants, as well as a new leisure centre with fantastic pool and gym facilities.

Job Details
During this 12-week summer placement you will apply your experimental physics skills to genuine challenges, working alongside our research and development team on delivering a new state-of-the-art APS system. This powerful tool is a desktop measurement technique for high resolution measurements of energy levels, making it both a highly convenient and insightful technique for material characterisation. Aims of the project will be the optimisation of the photoemission intensity and resolution, and improvements to the system functionality. This will include: design and testing of translators for sample stage movement; optical characterisation and beam focussing; optimisation of the user interface and formation a results database using internal and client data. The position requires an aptitude in experimental skills alongside good recording and reporting of results. Useful skills include experience in optics, semiconductors, electronics, programming and data modelling. The project will be supported by in-house specialists in physics, electronics and software development. You will utilise research equipment and systems for analysis and characterisation and the relevant training and support will be provided. Training will be provided by the project supervisor, Prof Iain Baikie, CEO and Dr Mari Cole. This position best suits a candidate wishing develop or extend skills in experimental physics, who is considering a career in research. It would best suit candidates 1-2 years from graduation, but we will consider all applications.

Salary £1,800 p.m
Start May/June 2025
If interested, please contact Prof Iain Baikie (Iain@Kelvinprobe.com) 

with a CV, an introduction to yourself and your motivation for applying.
12 May 2025