Principal Researcher: Pavement Design at Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)

About The Job
The CSIR has a vacancy for a Principal Researcher: Pavement Design within the Transport Infrastructure Engineering Impact Area of the Smart Mobility Cluster. The group plays a leading role in road construction materials, pavement design, road rehabilitation design and analysis methods, monitoring long-term performance of roads and road material characterisation and assessment. This position is based in Pretoria.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide technical and strategic leadership to staff in the Pavement Design and Construction (PDC) research group by ensuring quality scientific outputs and the professional development and transformation of the group’s scientific capacity;
• Promote a culture of scientific excellence in terms of both quality and delivery;
• Lead research in the structural design of road pavements;
• Become recognised as an expert in the field of PDC and associated research; providing thought leadership;
• Networking ability both nationally and internationally, and proven networks within all aspects of transport infrastructure design, construction, maintenance and rehabilitation;
• Proven contract and project management experience on medium to large-scale projects, preferably involving multi-disciplinary research and development, both in South Africa and internationally;
• Provide effective mentorship to other colleagues. to enhance research capability within the research group.

Qualifications, Skills And Experience

• A Masters’ degree in civil engineering, with ten years experience in civil engineering, specialisation in pavement design;
• A Doctorate degree in civil engineering is preferable;
• A track record in attracting and securing funding to support a team and formulating strategies;
• Lead the research conducted by the group in areas such as performance modelling of road construction materials; pavement design; road rehabilitation design and analysis methods; and monitoring performance of roads;
• Registration with a relevant professional body;
• Good understanding of the transport sector in South Africa;
• Excellent interpersonal and organisational skills;
• Ability to continuously disseminate research outputs in the form of technical papers;
• Ability to innovate and generate new knowledge;
• Must have good communication, presentation and writing skills;
• Must have the ability to work accurately, efficiently and independently as well as in a team;
• Must be computer literate as well as have the ability to understand and use domain specialised software;
• Ability to work in a methodical manner is essential;
• Ability to carry out strategic stakeholder interactions at all levels;
• Ability to effectively present ideas, concepts, plan and procedures;
• Demonstrated track record of the ability to work accurately, independently and efficiently.