Connected Places Catapult is hiring a KTP Associate - Digital Twins - Apply Now!

[John Holden]

APPLY HERE!

Purpose of the role

Connected Places Catapult is the UK’s innovation accelerator for cities, transport, and places. We provide impartial ‘innovation as a service’ for public bodies, businesses, and infrastructure providers to catalyse step-change improvements in the way people live, work and travel. We connect businesses and public sector leaders to cutting-edge research to spark innovation and grow new markets. We run technology demonstrators and SME accelerators to scale new solutions that drive growth, spread prosperity, and eliminate carbon.

Award winning metaverse startup Hadean, and Connected Places Catapult, have been awarded a UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) Innovate UK Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) grant to create a new offering in the transportation sector. The 2-year long project will aim to develop a traffic simulation digital twin that can scale to a large number of entities (cars, standard HGVs, eHGVs, charging points, electric overhead cables), replicate motorways and highways in the UK and study the optimal locations for e-Highways.

The KTP associate will be an integral part of Hadean’s Innovation team and an employee of the Connected Places Catapult. The associate will have the opportunity to meet with experts working across both the digital twin and transport innovation sectors developing their networks as well as gaining commercial exposure. Exposure of this kind will help to develop the associate as well as improve their future business capabilities.

This project will not be without its technical challenges and the associate will need to learn how to apply their detailed technical knowledge and develop it into a larger system engineering skillset and applying this systems knowledge to the real-world problems which can enable innovation on our national highways systems. Exposure of this kind will help to develop the associate as a multidisciplinary technical knowledge holder. The associate will be expected to develop competence in use of the chosen modelling software, which would need to integrate with the Hadean platform, to ensure this tool is adopted to model the e-Highways concept. Key technical challenges are envisaged around how to replicate the existing infrastructure and accommodate the requirements for the e-Highways into the model, as well as to develop a robustly calibrated and validated model of the chosen study area. The associate will also host/participate in workshops with key partners to identify and analyse potential use cases for the testing and demonstration of the platform.

The associate will be assisted by both CPC and Hadean in the development of this project but will be expected to project manage the details and play their part in ensuring that this project develops new product lines for Hadean which ultimately match the ambitious commercial outcomes of this project. Exposure of this kind will help to develop the associate as a future leader.

The associate will also have the opportunity to take part in CPC’s SME Engagement programme. This programme provides opportunities for the Catapult’s network of 4,000+ SMEs to network; identify and break down barriers to growth; and to be introduced to our network of partners. An example of this was an event at the Shard where 10 SMEs were given the opportunity to pitch for a total of £30m in front of 15 Venture Capital investors. Engagement in this programme will give unparalleled commercial exposure to the associate.

Key Responsibilities

• Undertaking background research to identify the appropriate modelling tool(s) required to develop e-highways concept of digital twins
• Undertaking calibration and validation of existing models, or new models developed, to demonstrate fitness for purpose
• Undertaking bespoke analysis to support the enhancement of modelling methods and development of new modelling techniques
• Undertaking analysis of transport data and explore new methodology research to support the development of models and techniques to enable new and novel transport modes/services to be assessed and appraised
• Work collaboratively to solve complex transport modelling problems
• Apply best practice in the process of modelled development and use
• Liaise with clients and other project stakeholders to enable modelling requirements and specifications to be developed and agreed
• Keep abreast of opportunities, challenges and new developments in the field of transport modelling and digital twins
• Produce high quality reports and numerical analysis
• Management of own workload to time and quality
• Following internal processes for QA and project control in the delivery of your work
• The associate may be required to undertake any other reasonable duties to support the Catapult and Hadean in achieving its strategic outcomes and ensure effective business operations.

Requirements

Essential:

• Masters in Computer Science, Mathematics, Engineering, or equivalent discipline is essential; PhD preferable or must demonstrate equivalent experience gained in industry or research.
• Strong, demonstrable knowledge in C++ or Rust is essential. Python - or a willingness to learn - is strongly desirable.
• Experience of working with transport modelling tools (such as Sumo, SATURN, CUBE, VISUM, EMME, AIMSUN, VISSIM or MATSim). Open-source examples are strongly desirable.
• Experience of building and running transport models for highways, public transport and multi-modal planning & assessments
• Desire to own and drive a project to create a desirable new offering in the transport modelling and digital twins space
• Experience in the calibration and validation of transport models and applying best practice (e.g. the Department for Transport’s Transport Appraisal Guidance, TAG)
• A project management qualification is desirable but being able to evidence delivery and programming of projects is essential
• The associate must have a willingness and desire to produce well commented and documented source code
• The associated must have a mindset capable of grasping complex systems and big data for working with and creating models of transport network structures
• Willingness to work in a research and development environment and dealing with the inherent uncertainty in such a project.

Desirable:

• Knowledge of digital twins as applied to the transport sector
• Knowledge of transport planning and modelling
• Knowledge of the development of big data and complex systems applications, including their visualisations
• Knowledgeable in data analysis packages, such as ‘R’, Excel/Access, PANDAS, numpy, etc.
• Possess software development skills
• Experience with high-performance or distributed computing
• Experience with implementing agent-based or network-based models
• Knowledge and experience of GIS software (e.g MapInfo, ArcView, QGis)
• Experience in the use of statistical software packages (e.g “R” and/or “SPSS”)

Benefits

Holiday entitlement – 25 days holiday entitlement for everyone (pro-rata if part time) plus a shutdown at Christmas (approx 3 extra days off)

Pension Scheme – We offer a competitive pension plan, helping you save for your future

Volunteering – Whether you’re looking to clean up a beach, are a school governor or charity trustee, want to support a local charitable event or use your skills and experience as part of a mentoring scheme for SMEs we are here to support you with two paid days of volunteering leave per year (pro-rata if part time)

Payroll Giving – Our Payroll Giving Scheme with GiveAll, is a flexible option which allows anyone who pays UK income tax to give back to their charity of choice on a regular basis from your pre-tax income – helping your money go further to those who need it the most

Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) – Provided by Health Assured, our EAP offers 24/7 confidential work/life support services to you and your immediate family members

Cycle to Work Scheme – We love to cycle and as well as bike racks and showers at our two office locations, you can spread the cost of a new bike over a 12 or 18 month period, through payroll deductions

Cash Health Plan – We’ve teamed up with Westfield to offer you a range of generous health and wellbeing cash plans. This benefit allows you to be reimbursed for a wide range of both essential and everyday healthcare expense

Tech Loans – As an innovative, early adopter and future thinker, you’ll want the latest gadgets, so you have the option of buying any IT equipment and repaying it through payroll deductions

Discounts and Offers – To provide you with a range of offers from a wide variety of retailers

 

Keeping all our colleagues safe is our first priority, especially during the COVID-19 Pandemic. We are back in our offices and all staff will have a working week both in the office and days at home as part of our Hybrid working model.

Employment here is based solely upon individual merit and qualifications directly related to professional competence. We strictly prohibit unlawful discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, colour, religion, national origin, ancestry, pregnancy status, sex, gender identity or expression, age, marital status, mental or physical disability, medical condition, sexual orientation, or any other characteristics protected by law. We also make all reasonable accommodations to meet our obligations under laws protecting the rights of the disabled.