Explore Experimental Roles With Us

Nucleus Capital I. GMBH; Hatching Green; On-site; GBP 42,000 - 62,000; Full time

Job summary

Biographica is growing its experimental team in Harpenden and seeks a plant scientist to work with computational colleagues. You will design experiments, run assays and generate data for model training, with hands-on cloning and transformation experience and a PhD in plant sciences.

You will collect multi-omics data, validate protoplast assays, coordinate with Rothamsted's services, and maintain lab equipment, all while communicating across ML, data engineering and bioinformatics teams.

Qualifications

• PhD in plant sciences; at least a year of postdoc or industry experience preferred.
• Hands-on experience collecting at least one omics data type.
• Cloning experience and plant transformation protocols required.
• Experience with Arabidopsis thaliana and maize (or monocots) is desirable.
• Strong emphasis on robust experimental design, data collection and documentation.
• Excellent English communication across disciplines with ML/data teams.

Responsibilities

• Design and run experiments to evaluate trait improvements in planta.
• Collect multi-omics data (e.g., WGS, RNA-seq) to train models.
• Help establish and validate protoplast assays quantifying gene expression.
• Collaborate with computational scientists on experimental design and validation.
• Coordinate with Rothamsted's horticultural services to ensure plant material health.
• Maintain day-to-day lab equipment and ensure compliance with lab practices.

Skills

PhD in Plant Sci

Cloning

Plant transformation

Omics data

Experimental design

English fluency

Cross-disciplinary comms

Education

PhD in plant sciences

Tools

ELNs

Sequencing platforms

Lab equipment

Job description

About Us

Biographica is an agricultural biotech company using computational biology and proprietary models to discover the causal genetics behind better crops. We deliver novel, editable trait targets, prioritised to each partner's objective, as a precision input to their breeding and editing programs. This helps seed companies advance the right traits faster and at lower cost.

Our work happens where models meet the bench. Alongside our computational team, we run our own lab at Rothamsted Enterprises in Harpenden, where we test our models' predictions experimentally and generate the data that makes the next round of predictions better.

We're backed by world-class investors following our £7M funding round, and we partner with BASF | Nunhems, one of the world's leading vegetable seed companies.

The role

We're growing our experimental team and looking for a plant scientist to join us at our lab in Harpenden. You'll work closely with our computational scientists to design experiments, build and run assays, and generate the data our models learn from.

What you'll work on

• designing and running experiments to evaluate predicted trait improvements in planta
• collecting multi-omics data (WGS, RNA-seq, fluorescent readouts) to train and fine-tune our models
• helping establish and validate protoplast assays that quantify gene expression
• working closely with our computational scientists on experimental design and validation
• coordinating with Rothamsted's horticultural services to make sure plant material is healthy and ready for experiments
• day-to-day maintenance of lab equipment, using Rothamsted's services as much as possible so you can focus on the science

We'd love to hear from you if you...

• have a PhD in plant sciences, ideally with at least a year of postdoc or industry experience
• have hands-on experience collecting at least one omics data type
• have cloning experience
• have experience with plant transformation protocols
• have worked with Arabidopsis thaliana and maize (or another monocot)
• care about robust experimental design, rigorous data collection and good documentation
• can communicate across disciplines. Our team includes ML engineers, data engineers, computational biologists and bioinformaticians, and we all need a common language to work towards rapid, accurate gene discovery for agricultural traits
• have full professional proficiency in English

It's a plus if you have experience with...

• electronic lab notebooks (ELNs)
• phenotyping
• sequencing (Illumina, ONT or PacBio)
• lab licences (e.g. DEFRA), phytosanitary certification and MTAs

You don't need to tick every box, but a PhD and hands-on cloning and plant transformation experience are essential