El 1 (S&t Level 5) - Thermal Physiology Researcher

$108,195 - $122,044 (plus Super)
- Fishermans Bend - VIC

**The Role**
The Thermal Physiologist Researcher will work under limited guidance and be responsible for leading research programs in:

- Assessing thermal strain of warfighters in their work environment and exploring intervention strategies to reduce thermal injuries and improve work capacity, and
- Assisting with the development and assessment of individual protective equipment by conducting human studies and employing the thermal sweating manikin and thermal modelling.

As a thermal physiology researcher you will maintain a high level of technical knowledge and specialist expertise, you will solve complex problems, conduct research in laboratory and field environments which will require regular travel. Partnerships with universities, industry and international Defence scientists will be required to sufficiently deliver to our military stakeholders.

You will be required to collaborate with military stakeholders to provide high quality, relevant and timely expert advice. Often you will be required to lead small research teams, university and military stakeholder partnerships.

**About our Team**
This position is within the Human System Performance (HSP) Major Science & Technology Capability (MSTC) of the Human & Decision Sciences Division.

The HSP MSTC undertakes human science research and development to enhance the capability of the warfighter. This is realised through the development of the warfighter’s physical and cognitive performance and resilience, and the optimisation of the human-system that enables them to achieve mission success across a wide range of challenging military tasks and environments.

Military systems have people at their core. Their success is dependent on the preparation and equipping of personnel to achieve difficult missions in often dangerous environments individually or more often as part of a mutually reliant team. Emerging research across a wide variety of human science disciplines promises new opportunities to enable the ADF to seize and maintain a capability advantage. The fast rate of technological advancement and the broad range of potentially relevant research fields demand a partnership approach.

If Defence is to identify and pursue the most promising opportunities, it needs access to leading research teams across Australia. DST’s human sciences capability has a well-established tradition of partnering to deliver against the research priorities of its military stakeholders.

The Human Performance Program (HPP) involves ongoing arrangements in the areas of physical employment standards, food innovation and human performance, and many more. The largest of these partnerships is the Human Performance Research network (HPRnet) which grew in 2019 to over 20 studies with funding from multiple sources. High stakeholder demand is continuing to drive HPP expansion across a range of topics including, most recently, human biotechnologies.

You will be a proactive and highly motivated person who is willing and able to work autonomously and effectively both as an individual, team member and team leader. You will be willing to share technical knowledge and provide support to other team members.

Your established national and international networks in thermal physiology laboratories, knowledge and science excellence will enable you to forecast future Defence needs with an understanding of the opportunities DSTG can provide. As a capable collaborator, you will have demonstrated evidence of your external linkages with Defence stakeholders, industry partners, universities and international Defence scientists to create opportunities for emerging technologies to develop into sustainable Defence capabilities.

You will be able to clearly communicate, both verbal and written, technical information to your peers as well as to stakeholders who may not have a science background.