The postdoctoral appointee will be located within the School of Advanced Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering (AME) at UniSA. The AME has a range of activities and expertise that will be of direct relevance to the postdoc position and the Seafood CRC.

AME has:-
- Recently launched a Master degree program in Logistics and Supply Chain Management for external delivery of the program.
- Need for industry based engineering projects for its final year mechanical engineering students and Masters by coursework students. Thus projects identified by the Seafood Productivity Engineer will be undertaken by final year students.
- A PhD research program which can tackle some very complex and long term engineering issues for the Seafood industry.
- Staff with expertise in energy reduction and efficient refrigeration for both storage and product transportation.
- Staff with expertise in robotics and machine vision for automation.
- Staff with interests in recycling and life cycle analysis.
- Extensive facilities for testing and evaluating equipment used in seafood processing, storage and transportation.
- A range of softwares for modelling of mechanical systems and technologies.
- Laboratory for product sorting, sizing and separation.
- Collaboration with engineers working in the seafood industry in Israel’s Agricultural Research Organisation.
- Track record of working with companies to develop solutions appropriate to the needs of industry.

The PDRS is expected to work on projects for which the industry expresses an interest (Cf. Sellfish TBP).

The SellFish theme contributes to both of the Australian Seafood CRC’s research programs "Value Chain Profitability Program (Program 1)" and 3Product Quality and Integrity Program (Program 2)". The Seafood CRC R&D Programs aim to deliver thirteen major outputs. Two of these desired outputs specifically require marketing research. They are Output 1.6 (Removal or reduction of barriers to seafood consumption) and Output 2.5 (Communication of consumer health benefits and risks).

Consumption of selected seafood products sold by Australian Seafood CRC participants will increase, through an increased of products satisfaction by existing customers and through the recruitment of new customers. The impact of activities carried out as part of this theme will be measured using an “omnibus” survey in one or more Australian cities where a selected cohort of consumers will be monitored over the life of the Seafood CRC. Additional consumer surveys and sales data will be used to assess the effectiveness of specific projects.

There are many general questions to be answered about barriers and drivers of seafood consumption, and it is expected that most CRC industry participants will find the answers useful. All seafood CRC industry participants will therefore be asked to cooperate in funding the necessary projects. These general questions will be considered in the early projects conducted by the CRC, thereby establishing a level of basic knowledge and common understanding in all CRC industry participants and research providers. These early projects will also be important in establishing relationships and credibility between industry participants and researchers. Much of the seafood produced by CRC participants is exported and it follows that market research should be conducted in those export markets.