Senior Research Technician

Warwick; Coventry; Hybrid; GBP 31,000 - 35,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension scheme

Holiday allowance

Learning and development opportunities

Employee discounts

Parental leave

Onsite childcare

Flexible working

Job summary

The Naish lab in the School of Life Sciences at the University of Warwick invites applications for a Research Technician to join a small team studying centromere biology. You will support two projects, including a Wellcome-funded study in Arabidopsis thaliana and a UKRI-funded project on alternative centromere structures in marine plankton.

You will work closely with postdoctoral researchers and PhD students, performing standard and advanced molecular biology techniques (PCR, gel

Qualifications

• Experience with molecular biology techniques and cloning workflows.
• Ability to perform PCR, gel electrophoresis, DNA purification and sequencing.
• Experience with genetic transformations and sequencing technologies.

Responsibilities

• Support two centromere biology projects in Arabidopsis and marine plankton.
• Perform routine and advanced molecular biology techniques in the lab.
• Work closely with postdoctoral researchers and PhD students.
• Contribute as a formal author on the work you support.
• Maintain plants and plankton cultures.

Skills

PCR

Gel electrophoresis

DNA purification

Restriction digests

Ligation

Gibson assembly

Bacterial transformation

Plasmid prep

Genotyping

Nanopore Sequencing

Plant husbandry

Plankton culture

Sanger sequencing

Job description

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Hours: Full-time, 36.5 hours per week (1.0 FTE)

Closing Date: Sunday 18 October 2026, 11:59 pm

Full time Salary Range: £31,236.00- £34,610.00per annum

About the Group

You will join the Naish group in the School of Life Sciences at Warwick University. The candidate will work in a dynamic team of scientists and collaborate with group members to make discoveries. Regular opportunities will be provided for presentation of the candidate's work, together with regular career-mentoring. The Naish lab shares space with the groups of Prof. Miriam Gifford, Vardis Ntoukakis and Jose Gutierrez-Marcos, who research related questions in plant epigenetics.

Any requests for further information about the role can be directed to Matthew Naish ([e-mail])

The laboratory is situated in SLS on the Gibbet hill campus in UoW and houses state-of-the-art facilities. The University of Warwick is also a major centre for both plant science, and genomics, providing extensive opportunities for collaboration and presentation of research findings and further career development and growth.

Note: Please note this is an on-campus based role, due to the nature of the work, we cannot accommodate any work from home basis.

For details on the experience and skills required, please refer to the job description.

About the Role

We're looking for an enthusiastic research technician with molecular biology skills to join a small team studying centromere biology. how the region of the chromosome that drives its own inheritance is specified, and why it varies so much between and within species. You would support two projects: a Wellcome-funded investigation of how genetic and epigenetic variation influences centromere function in Arabidopsis thaliana, and a UKRI-funded project exploring alternative centromere structures in marine plankton.

You would work closely with postdoctoral researchers and PhD students and would be recognised as a contributor on the work you support. The ideal candidate would have competency in a range of multidisciplinary molecular biology techniques in the lab including cloning (PCR, gel electrophoresis, DNA purification, restriction digests and ligation, Gibson assembly, bacterial transformation and culture, plasmid prep), and routine genotyping from sample collection through gDNA extraction to PCR, genetic transformations, Nanopore Sequencing, as well as general plant husbandry and plankton cell culture maintenance.

The post is available for two years in the first instance, with the possibility of further extension.

About You

We are looking for someone to provide technical support to post-doctoral research staff and principal investigator undertaking research projects. The successful candidate will be required to perform various routine and higher-level molecular biology techniques in the lab including cloning (PCR, gel electrophoresis, DNA purification, restriction reactions, ligation reactions, Gibson assembly, bacterial transformation and culture, plasmid purification, and Sanger sequencing), genotyping (collecting material, genomic DNA extraction, PCR, and gel electrophoresis), genetic transformations, Nanopore Sequencing, as well as general plant husbandry and maintenance of plankton cell cultures.

About the Department

School of Life Sciences

For further information about the School of Life Sciences please see our website at

We believe that collegiality, openness, inclusivity and diversity are essential for an excellent research and teaching environment.

Our workplace ethic has enabled us to gain the Athena SWAN Silver award. We are dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive workplace and encourage applications from all groups with protected characteristics traditionally under-represented in STEM fields. As part of our ongoing commitment to addressing gender equality under the Athena Swan chartermark, we would particularly encourage and welcome applications from female academics.

Benefits

• an attractive pension scheme
• a generous holiday allowance plus Christmas closure
• excellent learning and development opportunities
• savings on a wide range of products and services
• a generous maternity/paternity/adoption/parental leave policy
• onsite childcare facilities
• access to flexible working

Warwick is committedto building an organisation ofmutual respectanddignity, promoting awelcoming, diverse, and inclusive workingand learning environment. We recognise that everyone is different in a variety of visible and non-visible ways, and that those differences are to berecognised, respected, and valued. Where possible, we go beyond legislation to provide a place where everyone can thrive, supporting all staff to achieve their full potential. We aspire to remove economic, social, and cultural barriers that may otherwise prevent people from succeeding.

We therefore welcome and encourage applications from all communities regardless of culture, background, age, disability, sex/gender, gender identity or expression, ethnicity, religion/belief, or sexual or romantic orientation.

The University currently holds aRace Equality Charter Bronze Award,Athena Swan Sliver Awardand aDisability Smart Bronze Award. The University of Warwick is also one of the six founder institutions of the EUTOPIA European University Alliance.