Job Title: Immersive Suite Specialist
Department: Global Research Institute in Health & Care Technologies
Salary: Grade 7 (£36,924-£46,485)
Contract Type: Full Time (1FTE), Open Ended
Rewards and Benefits: 33 days annual leave, plus 9 buildings closed days for all full time staff (Part time workers should pro rata this by their FTE).
Job Summary
The Global Research Institute (GRI) in Health & Care Technologies (H&CT) at Heriot-Watt University is seeking an innovative, skilled Immersive Suite Specialist. This is a unique opportunity to play a pivotal role in advancing health technology research, patient care, and training through immersive, high-fidelity simulation and technology-enhanced learning. As the Immersive Suite Specialist, you will lead the maintenance, development, and commercialisation of our state-of-the-art immersive suite, working with researchers, industry partners, patient groups, and healthcare professionals to foster cutting-edge solutions and support impactful research outputs.
Start Date: March 2025 (latest)
Location: Riccarton Campus, Edinburgh, Heriot-Watt University
Role Purpose
As the Immersive Suite Specialist, your role will ensure the seamless operation and advancement of immersive suite technology. This will enable accelerated testing, improved patient care, and enhanced training outcomes by bringing hands-on expertise in managing advanced audio-visual systems, simulators, and the development of new immersive environments. You will support Heriot-Watt’s mission to be a leader in translational health technology research, advancing impactful and scalable healthcare solutions.
Key Responsibilities
1. Immersive Suite Operations: Manage all technical and operational aspects of the immersive suite, ensuring equipment readiness and maintaining high standards of simulation-based support. Lead the provision of technical demonstrations and provide advice and explanation in the operation of the apparatus, equipment and software. Will be required to train staff/academics/industry partners as required.
2. Training & Development: Design and implement training programmes, educational materials, and user manuals to maximise the suite’s functionality and ensure effective use by academics, researchers, and healthcare professionals. Lead the delivery of demonstrations and training to all stakeholders as required.
3. Technology Augmentation: Scope and integrate new AV technologies to enhance the suite’s functionality, addressing the diverse needs of research, training, and public engagement. Develop the business case for upgrading/replacement purchasing of equipment and obtain the relevant quotations.
4. Stakeholder Engagement: Facilitate co-creation workshops and industry partnerships, hosting patient and community visits, and supporting research grant proposals by demonstrating immersive suite capabilities. Ability to explain complex information accurately and often for non-specialist audiences. Demonstrate competence in leading conversations with industry to discuss new and emerging systems and methods of work. Investigate stakeholder needs to understand what is required from project conception through to commissioning and completion and liaise with relevant partners (both internal and external) to understand expectations and deliverables.
5. Commercialisation & Revenue Generation: Develop and execute strategies to monetise the immersive suite, setting revenue targets, managing data analysis for strategic planning, and enhancing Heriot-Watt’s market position. Liaise with the Business Development team to identify market opportunities and potential partners/users of the facilities and attend meetings and conferences to promote the services offered.
6. Finance: Monitor and maintain related budgets.
7. Innovation & Collaboration: Lead initiatives to explore new applications of immersive technologies in healthcare, fostering collaborations with internal and external partners across disciplines.
8. Data Management: Ensure compliance with data privacy and security regulations while managing and analysing usage data to optimise training and resource allocation. Ability to analyse collected data and equipment outputs to support studies and trials and present the information in report form or excel.
9. Health and Safety: The technician will have responsibility for themselves and others in respect of health and safety and will have an enforcement role in ensuring implementation of health and safety practices. This will include the development of work area procedures and technical procedures according to the relevant legislation and standards.
Education, Qualifications and Experience
Essential
1. Interpersonal Skills: Ability to foster collaboration with diverse stakeholders, including academics, healthcare professionals, and industry stakeholders, enhancing the immersive suite’s impact on research and training outcomes.
2. Technical Skills: Demonstrable experience in managing technical facilities that would present similar challenges and opportunities to those encountered for an immersive suite e.g. data management challenges, keeping the suite up to date from a software and hardware perspective.
3. Team Player: The appointed individual will join the H&CT GRI team and must therefore be willing and enthused to be an active team member. Sometimes, this may require working flexibly to achieve the overarching objectives of the GRI.
4. Training: Experienced in the design and delivery of technical related learning materials and ability to research, analyse and present complex information effectively with good attention to detail.
5. IT Literacy: Ability to use relevant software packages.
6. Commercial: Experience of collaborating closely with industry partners to generate revenues.
7. Organisational Skills: Competence in supporting a wide range of stakeholders, managing workload and working to deadlines.
Desirable
1. Educational Background: A degree in a relevant field such as Healthcare Technology, Biomedical Engineering, Media Technology, or similar. However, significant on-the-job experience in a relevant sector would also be viewed equally positively.
2. Experience: Demonstrable experience in managing high-fidelity simulation environments, audio-visual systems, or technology-enhanced learning platforms, ideally within healthcare or an educational setting.
3. Technical Skills: Demonstrable expertise in AV and simulation technologies, troubleshooting, equipment maintenance, and experience in designing and delivering training materials.
What We Offer
1. An opportunity to join a values-led team, where everyone’s opinions and contributions are respected.
2. An opportunity to join a team passionate about developing technologies for the benefit of people and society.
3. A key role within a leading institution in health technology innovation, contributing to impactful healthcare advancements.
4. Opportunities for continuous professional development, with access to cutting-edge technologies and industry-leading training.
5. A collaborative, forward-thinking environment, with the chance to shape the future of healthcare research and immersive technology applications.
How to Apply
Interested applicants must submit via the Heriot-Watt University online recruitment system:
(1) a cover letter describing their interest and suitability for the post; (2) a full CV detailing research, teaching experience and industry engagement.
Applications can be submitted up until midnight on Friday 17th January 2025.
Shortlisting will start as soon as the role closes and interviews will commence shortly after.
Join us at Heriot-Watt University and become a catalyst for healthcare innovation!
At Heriot Watt we are passionate about our values and look to them to connect our people globally and to help us collaborate and celebrate our success through working together. Our research programmes can deliver real world impact which is achieved through the diversity of our international community and the recognition of creative talent that connects our global team.
Our flourishing community will give you the freedom to challenge and to bring your enterprising mind and to help our partners with solutions that can be applied now and in the future. Join us and Heriot Watt will provide you with a platform to thrive and work in a way that also helps you live your life in balance with well-being and inclusiveness at the heart of our global community.
Heriot-Watt University is committed to securing equality of opportunity in employment and to the creation of an environment in which individuals are selected, trained, promoted, appraised and otherwise treated on the sole basis of their relevant merits and abilities. Equality and diversity are all about maximising potential and creating a culture of inclusion for all.
Heriot-Watt University values diversity across our University community and welcomes applications from all sectors of society, particularly from underrepresented groups.
We welcome and will consider flexible working patterns e.g. part-time working and job share options.
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