Postdoc, Protein Engineer for Nanopore Tools

Ellison Institute of Technology Oxford; Oxford; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Travel Allowance

Annual Bonus

Pension - Employer contribution 7.5%

Life Assurance

Income Protection

Private Medical Insurance

Employee discounts

Cycle to Work Scheme

Neurodiversity support

Job summary

Ellison Institute of Technology invites applications for a Postdoctoral Protein Scientist to join the MDLS group at EIT, with initial placement at the University of Oxford Department of Chemistry. You will design and prepare protein tools, including nanopores and enzymes, to support nanopore sensing technology development.

You will lead protein engineering, purification, and QC, mentoring junior researchers and collaborating across physics and engineering disciplines to translate requirements

Qualifications

• PhD in a relevant field such as Protein Science, Structural Biology, Protein Biochemistry, Chemical Biology, or a closely related discipline.
• Demonstrated expertise in protein engineering, protein preparation, and molecular biology.
• Proficient in molecular cloning techniques (e.g. Gibson/Golden Gate assembly, site-directed mutagenesis, plasmid design).
• Hands-on experience with recombinant protein expression in bacterial, mammalian, or cell-free systems.
• Practical experience with protein purification by FPLC (IMAC, ion exchange, size-exclusion).
• Experience with protein characterisation and QC techniques (SDS-PAGE, Western blot, MS, DLS, CD, DSF).
• Self-starter, reliable, and urgent delivery mindset.
• Comfortable in multidisciplinary settings and communicating with non-bio colleagues.

Responsibilities

• Carry out molecular cloning and construct design (Gibson/Golden Gate, site-directed mutagenesis).
• Express proteins using bacterial, mammalian, and cell-free systems with appropriate strategies.
• Purify proteins by FPLC, including IMAC and ion exchange.
• Characterise protein preparations and set acceptance criteria for functional assays.
• Apply engineering approaches to optimise nanopore tools for sensing applications.
• Maintain inventory and records of plasmids and protein preparations.
• Develop SOPs and train junior team members in protein techniques.
• Liaise with suppliers for equipment maintenance and procurement.
• Record experiments and contribute to manuscripts, IP disclosures, and grants.

Skills

Protein engineering

Molecular biology

Protein expression

Protein purification

Molecular cloning

Team mentoring

Interdisciplinary collaboration

Education

PhD in Protein Science/related field

Tools

Gibson/Golden Gate

IMAC purification

FPLC

SDS-PAGE / Western blot

Job description

Ellison Institute of Technology invites applications for a Postdoctoral Protein Scientist to join the MDLS group at EIT, with initial placement at the University of Oxford Department of Chemistry. You will design and prepare protein tools, including nanopores and enzymes, to support nanopore sensing technology development.

You will lead protein engineering, purification, and QC, mentoring junior researchers and collaborating across physics and engineering disciplines to translate requirements