Science and Technology Lead - Ubiquitous Particle Profiling

ARIA is a new R&D funding agency built to unlock technological breakthroughs that benefit everyone. We fund scientists and engineers to pursue research at the edge of the possible.

From climate change to AI, society faces enormous challenges and opportunities that can be uniquely addressed by science and technology. ARIA was created to activate the UK’s world-class R&D in new ways, so we can meet these head on.

Our success is shaped by one question: how will ARIA transform the lives of the UK’s future generations? Whether that’s a life-changing new technology or a burgeoning new industry, it should be obvious that ARIA played a catalytic role.

If you want to help make breakthroughs like these possible, come and build ARIA with us.

Learn more here.

 

Role Summary

As an ARIA Science and Technology Lead, you will have the rare chance to catalyse breakthroughs that could change the world. You'll sit alongside Programme Directors Sarah Bohndiek and Gemma Bale and their Programme Specialist on an emerging programme in ARIA's Adaptive Machines opportunity space, focused on our North Star for profiling the size, shape, and molecular species of single particles to become a ubiquitous capability. You’ll be exposed to every aspect of the programme's technical management from design through approval, project selection, and delivery.

Your impact will extend beyond a single programme; you will play a key role in strengthening the wider Adaptive Machines opportunity space, with a deep, evolving understanding of programmes and projects over time. As Programme Directors join the opportunity space and new programmes are launched, you will surface insights that build on existing ARIA-funded technologies, accelerate discovery, and turn past lessons into future breakthroughs, maximising impact across the portfolio.

We’re looking for an adaptable technical professional who’s strongly motivated by the opportunity to catalyse a technological step change. You’ll be working in a bold, talented, and agile team, funding projects (‘Creators’) across the entire R&D ecosystem, from startups to universities, in the pursuit of groundbreaking advancements that will shape the future of science and technology.

Meet Sarah Bohndiek and Gemma Bale

Sarah and Gemma are co-Programme Directors on secondment from the University of Cambridge, and lead the Forecasting Tipping Points programme at ARIA.

Sarah is a Professor of Biomedical Physics at Cambridge, jointly appointed in the Department of Physics and the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute. Sarah directs an interdisciplinary team that uses optical imaging technology for earlier cancer detection. 

Gemma is an Assistant Professor of Medical Therapeutics in the Department of Engineering and Department of Physics at Cambridge. Her work focuses on developing non-invasive brain monitoring in real-world environments where traditional brain monitoring isn’t possible. 

While Sarah and Gemma’s expertise is grounded in the medical sciences, their focus at ARIA has been on harnessing the power of measurement and modelling to equip society to respond confidently to the climate crisis. They are now developing a new ARIA programme shooting for ubiquitous particle profiling.

Find out more about what they’re working on here.

Sarah Bohndiek and Gemma Bale, co-Programme Directors