Scientific Officer

1000 European Molecular Biology Laboratory; Heidelberg; On-site; EUR 42,000 - 50,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Private medical insurance

30 days annual leave

Relocation package

Flexible working arrangements

Pension scheme

Job summary

European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) Heidelberg seeks a Scientific Officer to drive protein production services within the Protein Expression and Purification Core Facility. You will lead projects across expression systems, develop workflows, and deliver rigorous scientific outcomes, while supporting teaching and training activities.

The role requires hands-on expertise in protein expression, purification, and chromatography, with strong collaboration and communication skills.

Qualifications

• Undergraduate or postgraduate qualification in molecular biology, biochemistry or related field.
• Hands-on experience with recombinant protein expression in E. coli, insect cells and mammalian cells.
• Strong knowledge of protein chromatography techniques (affinity, ion exchange, size exclusion).

Responsibilities

• Coordinate protein production projects from discussion to delivery and reporting.
• Develop protein production strategies including construct design and workflow selection.
• Deliver high-quality purified proteins to internal and external users using chromatography methods.
• Develop and optimise high-throughput expression/purification workflows to increase capacity.
• Maintain chromatography instruments and provide technical support for workflows.

Skills

Protein expression

Chromatography

Mammalian expression

E. coli expression

Team coordination

English fluency

Education

Molecular biology / Biochemistry degree

Tools

ÄKTA

NGC

Laboratory automation

Job description

Your role

The Scientific Officer contributes to the delivery of high-quality protein production services within the Protein Expression and Purification Core Facility. The role coordinates and delivers protein production projects across different expression systems and chromatogratography platforms, working closely with internal and external users and other members of the facility. The position applies specialist technical knowledge to develop appropriate expression and purification workflows and supports teaching and training activities. The role manages multiple projects within agreed priorities and and is accountable for the timely delivery of rigorous scientific outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate protein production projects with the facility’s users and team members, from initial project discussion through to delivery and reporting of results.
• Develop appropriate protein production strategies for user projects, including construct design, choice of expression system and purification workflow.
• Deliver high-quality purified proteins to internal and external users through the application of appropriate protein expression and purification methods.
• Develop and optimise high-throughput expression and purification workflows to improve the efficiency and capacity of the facility.
• Maintain chromatography instruments and provide technical support to enable the effective operation of the facility’s protein production workflows.
• Train and support users, visitors and new team members working in the facility, and contribute to practical courses, workshops and other teaching activities.
• Ensure that work in the facility complies with laboratory safety requirements.

Capabilities

Collaboration: Builds constructive working relationships with colleagues and stakeholders. Communication: Accountability: Communicates information clearly and effectively to a range of audiences. Accountability: Takes ownership of responsibilities and delivers outcomes within agreed timeframes. Problem Solving: Identifies issues and applies sound judgement to determine appropriate solutions. Adaptability: Responds positively to changing priorities and organisational requirements.

Skills, Experience and Qualifications

You have Undergraduate or postgraduate qualification in molecular biology, biochemistry or related field, or an equivalent combination of education, training and experience. Hands-on experience with recombinant protein expression in E. coli, insect cells and mammalian cells, at different scales and throughputs. Strong knowledge of protein chromatography techniques, including affinity, ion exchange and size exclusion chromatography and demonstrated experience in applying them. Strong technical skills in the advanced use, troubleshooting and maintenance of protein chromatography platforms (ÄKTA, NGC or comparable systems). Strong organisational skills and the ability to coordinate multiple projects and priorities in parallel. Strong communication and interpersonal skills, a service-oriented approach to users, and fluency in English. You may also have Good working knowledge of various cloning methods. Experience with cell-free expression systems. Experience with laboratory automation or liquid-handling systems for high-throughput expression and purification screening.

Contract length

3 years, renewable to a maximum of 9 years.

Salary guidance

Grade 5 with a monthly salary starting from 4.147,92 EUR net of tax, excluding health insurance and pension contributions, plus additional EMBL benefits.

Why join us

EMBL is curiosity-driven, community-oriented and international. As an inclusive, equal opportunity employer, we believe that diversity enables us to collaborate more effectively and be innovative in our approaches. We are, therefore, committed to creating an inclusive and flexible culture - one where everyone can realise their full potential and make a positive contribution to our organisation. We encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing team – we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and personal experiences reflect the diversity of the populations that our science serves. We actively encourage applications from all genders and cultures, ethnic groups and all demographics to help us avoid perpetuating biases and oversights at this transformational point in our people strategy.

Enjoy lots of benefits

• Financial incentives: Salary free of income tax, Monthly family, child and non-resident allowances, annual salary review, pension scheme, death benefit, accident-at-work and unemployment insurances
• Flexible working arrangements
• Private medical insurance for you and your immediate family (including all prescriptions and generous dental & optical cover)
• Generous time off: 30 days annual leave per year, in addition to public holidays
• Relocation package including installation grant (conditions apply)
• Campus life: Library, on-site cafeteria, casual dress code, extensive sports and social club activities (on campus and remotely)
• Family benefits: Kindergarten (Heidelberg), 10 days of child sick leave, generous paid maternity/parental leave and monthly family & child allowances
• Benefits for international newcomers: Visa exemption, education grant for private schooling, financial support to travel back to your home country every second year and a monthly non-resident allowance

International applicants

We recruit internationally and successful candidates are offered visa exemptions. Visit our International Applicants page, to find out more.

EMBL is a signatory of DORA

Find out how we apply DORA principles to our recruitment and performance assessment processes here.

We encourage applications from candidates of all genders, identities, nationalities and/or any other diverse backgrounds.

We encourage applications from candidates of all genders, identities, nationalities and/or any other diverse backgrounds.

Closing Date

04/12/2026

Additional information

Whether you're a scientist, IT specialist, accountant or administrator, you'll help us tackle the challenges of improving human health & biodiversity in the face of climate change on a global scale. Please visit this page to find out more about the benefits at EMBL.