Media Scientist

Cranleigh STEM & Sustainability Recruitment; Oxford; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Collaborative environment

Development opportunities

Job summary

Ivy Farm Technologies is hiring a Scientist I - Media Development to join our R&D team focused on serum-free and chemically defined cell culture media for scalable cultivated meat production.

You will design and execute experiments, optimize media formulations, and work with Process Development, Scale Up, Manufacturing and Analytics to improve growth, viability and cost efficiency.

Qualifications

• Experience with mammalian cell culture and aseptic techniques.
• Experience designing experiments and interpreting data.
• Familiarity with DoE software and experimental planning.
• Strong planning and communication skills.
• Good documentation and data integrity practices.

Responsibilities

• Design and execute cell culture and media development experiments.
• Develop serum-free and chemically defined media formulations.
• Perform media component screening, dose–response, omission and interaction studies.
• Evaluate cell growth and media performance using various culture systems.
• Collect and analyse experimental data and present findings.

Skills

Mammalian cell culture

DoE (design of experiments)

Data analysis

Communication

Problem solving

Education

PhD in Life Sciences or related

Postdoctoral experience in cell biology/process development

Tools

ELN

LIMS

HPLC

LC-MS

Job description

Ivy Farm Technologies is at the forefront of cultivated meat innovation, developing pioneering technologies that are helping shape the future of sustainable food production. As we continue to grow, we're looking for a Scientist I - Media Development to join our R&D team and play a key role in developing serum-free and chemically defined cell culture media that supports scalable cultivated meat production.

Working within a collaborative, multidisciplinary environment, you'll contribute to the design, optimisation and scale-up of cell culture media, generating high-quality scientific data that drives innovation across the business.

The Role

As Scientist I, you'll plan and execute laboratory experiments with increasing independence, supporting the development of next-generation cell culture media. You'll work closely with colleagues across Process Development, Scale Up, Manufacturing and Analytics to improve cell growth, viability, robustness, scalability and cost efficiency.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and execute cell culture and media development experiments.
• Develop and optimise serum-free and chemically defined media formulations.
• Perform media component screening, dose-response, omission and interaction studies.
• Evaluate cell growth and media performance using multi-well plates, shake flasks and small-scale bioreactors.
• Collect, analyse and interpret experimental data, including cell counts, viability, morphology, pH, osmolality and metabolite analysis.
• Present findings and make evidence-based recommendations for future work.
• Maintain accurate electronic laboratory notebooks and ensure data integrity.
• Troubleshoot experimental challenges using structured root-cause analysis.
• Coordinate analytical sample submissions and maintain traceability.
• Contribute to project reviews, technical presentations and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Support training, knowledge sharing and maintenance of laboratory standards while following health, safety, quality and confidentiality requirements.

About You

We're looking for a motivated scientist who enjoys solving complex biological challenges and thrives in a collaborative research environment.

You'll ideally have:

• A PhD in Life Sciences, Biotechnology or a related discipline.
• Proven postdoctoral experience in cell biology or process development, within industry or an academic-industry collaboration.
• Strong hands-on experience with mammalian cell culture and aseptic laboratory techniques.
• Experience preparing cell culture media, buffers, stock solutions and reagents.
• Knowledge of experimental design, data analysis and biological data interpretation.
• Experience using electronic laboratory notebooks (ELN), LIMS and controlled documentation.
• Excellent planning, communication and problem-solving skills.
• Stem cell, primary cell, suspension or 3D mammalian cell culture.
• Small-scale bioreactor operation.
• Automated high-throughput screening platforms.
• Design of Experiments (DoE) software.
• Familiarity with HPLC, LC-MS or metabolite analysis workflows.

What Ivy Farm Technologies Offers

• The opportunity to contribute to groundbreaking cultivated meat technology.
• A collaborative and innovative scientific environment.
• The chance to work alongside talented multidisciplinary teams tackling real-world challenges.
• Ongoing opportunities for technical and professional development.
• Competitive salary and benefits package.