Lead Scientist, Molecular Assays & Bioanalysis

BioSpace; Oxford; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare benefits

Well-being resources

Family building benefits

Generous paid time off

Job summary

Moderna is seeking a senior individual contributor to lead molecular assay development at our Harwell site. You will guide design, validation, and deployment of RT-qPCR, dPCR, and NGS-based assays across diverse clinical endpoints, collaborating with cross-functional teams to deliver high-quality data for decision-making.

The role emphasizes independence, scientific leadership, data integrity, and the integration of informatics and AI-enabled approaches to accelerate discovery and translational

Qualifications

• Ph.D. required with 9+ years biotech/pharma experience or M.S. with 12+ years of relevant work.
• Hands-on experience developing and validating clinical qPCR, dPCR, NGS assays.
• Familiarity with GCLP/GLP, GxP/MHRA/ICH expectations and inspection readiness.

Responsibilities

• Provide scientific leadership for development, validation, and deployment of molecular assays for clinical endpoints.
• Lead RT-qPCR, dPCR, and NGS assay development across gene expression, viral load, sequencing, and repertoire profiling.
• Own end-to-end assay lifecycle: development, qualification, validation, tech transfer to labs/CROs.
• Author/review validation plans, reports, protocols, acceptance criteria per GCLP.

Skills

Deep hands-on qPCR/dPCR/NGS expertise

Library prep expertise

Bioinformatics pipelines

LIMS/ELN data governance

Education

Ph.D. in Molecular Biology or Genomics

Tools

Bioanalyzer/Tapestation

qPCR/dPCR instrumentation

LIMS/ELN systems

Job description

Moderna is seeking a senior individual contributor to lead molecular assay development at our Harwell site. You will guide design, validation, and deployment of RT-qPCR, dPCR, and NGS-based assays across diverse clinical endpoints, collaborating with cross-functional teams to deliver high-quality data for decision-making.

The role emphasizes independence, scientific leadership, data integrity, and the integration of informatics and AI-enabled approaches to accelerate discovery and translational