Research and Development Manager

Would you like to be instrumental in enabling the next generation of semi-conductors? 

As a Research and Development Manager at Infinitesima, you’re leading the team that de-risks cutting-edge semiconductor metrology. You’re shaping how new ideas turn into real, product-ready solutions that push technology forward, from AI to autonomous systems. You’re combining people leadership with technical depth to guide direction and make sure the work lands commercially. 

If this sounds like you, read on…. 

Reward and Benefits: 

• £52,275 – £77,987 (depending on experience) 

• 25 days annual leave 

• Death in service and private health care benefits, personal pension contributions of 4% with salary sacrifice and a generous EMI Share scheme 

Based in Abingdon, Oxford, UK, we are a high calibre team of 100 plus people and we are growing fast. We are backed by global financial and industry investors including Applied Ventures, the strategic venture arm of the industry leading equipment company. 

About the role: 
As Research and Development Manager, you’re leading and developing a multidisciplinary research team spanning hardware, software, modelling and applications. You’re owning the intake of feasibility-study requests, prioritising and resourcing them against business goals, and making sure the team delivers fast, evidence-based answers. 

You’re setting how the team operates — building strong ways of working, embedding best practices, and making sure outputs are robust before feeding into product decisions. You’re balancing leadership with enough technical depth to challenge thinking, guide direction, and connect research outcomes to the future of the semiconductor industry. 

A typical day for a Research and Development Manager could look like this: 

• Running the daily team meeting and keeping a dynamic operating rhythm with clear prioritisation 

• Setting up and embedding ways of working – logs, report formats and review routines – and coaching the team to follow best practices 

• Checking that results are robust and stand up to scrutiny before informing decisions 

• Line-managing, mentoring and developing a multidisciplinary team of engineers and scientists 

• Prioritising and resourcing feasibility studies and exploratory projects against business goals 

• Owning the quality and pace of solution assessments, proof-of-concept work and recommendations 

• Connecting R&D outputs to the product roadmap and supporting smooth hand-offs into product 

• Managing stakeholders across engineering, manufacturing, applications, service and leadership teams 

 Who we are looking for: 

To succeed as a Research and Development Manager, we do need you to have experience of: 

• Leading and developing a technical or scientific team, ideally in instrumentation, metrology, semiconductor or deep-tech environments 

• Bringing strong technical breadth across hardware, software, modelling or applications 

• Turning exploratory or research work into real product impact 

• Establishing ways of working and coaching teams to follow best practices 

• Prioritising and resourcing competing work in fast, ambiguous environments 

• Communicating clearly and managing stakeholders across technical and non-technical audiences 

 Nice to have: 

• Familiarity with nano-characterisation techniques (e.g. AFM, SEM, FIB, profilometry) 

• Experience working with semiconductor customers or equipment businesses 

 Education / Qualifications: 
Either a degree, Masters or PhD in Physics, Engineering or similar, or a clear equivalent path through relevant experience. Significant experience including people leadership (typically around 8–10 years).