Senior Scientist, Automation

ZipRecruiter; Oxford; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A firm in sustainable food innovation is seeking an Automation Senior Scientist in Oxford to lead automation efforts in laboratory processes. The role focuses on enhancing throughput and reducing variability in scientific workflows. Candidates should have a Ph.D. or equivalent experience in automation systems and be passionate about laboratory technologies. This role offers competitive compensation, 25 days annual leave, and a creative work environment.

Benefits

25 days annual leave + bank holidays

Company pension contribution 5%

Private health care from day one

Company bonus, eligible from day one

Innovative office environment

Qualifications

• Ph.D. with minimum of 2 years experience in automation systems.
• Wet lab experience in molecular biology or cell-based assays.
• Experience in programming and operation of liquid handling methods.

Responsibilities

• Design and deploy end-to-end laboratory automation.
• Troubleshoot and optimize robotic methods.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to enhance workflows.

Skills

Laboratory automation

Molecular biology

Programming in Python

Liquid handling

Education

Bachelor's degree in life science or related field

Ph.D. with automation experience

Tools

Hamilton STAR

LIMS/ELN

Job description

Overview

Join Ivy Farm Technologies as Automation Senior Scientist – Help Shape the Future of Sustainable Food!

At Ivy Farm our mission is to create the world’s best guilt free and sustainable meat, it’s cultivated meat, just like real meat, only made differently - and we’re super excited by it.

We’re a fun and humble community of 40+ technical and scientific crew; a team where you can make a true difference to animal well-being and global sustainability, and we’re looking for a driven Automation Senior Scientist to help us achieve our high throughput ambitions.

Are you ready to spearhead our Automation function at the forefront of the cultivated meat revolution?

Your Purpose:

We are seeking an enthusiastic and hard-working Laboratory Automation Senior Scientist to join the Automation team to collaborate in transforming validated benchtop analytical assays into end-to-end fully automated high-throughput processes. In this role you will collaborate with Cell Sciences, Media Development, Analytics, Digital Biology, and Lab Operations to increase sample testing throughput while reducing time-to-result, hands-on time, repetitive strain, and assay variability. A successful candidate will be versed in the latest automation technologies and be willing to work in fast paced team-oriented environment to support Cell Line and Media Development focus areas in R&D. The primary focus will be automating analytical workflows such as molecular biology, cell-based bioassays, liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry and flow cytometry.

Key Responsibilities - to give you a flavour - but of course not limited to:

As an R&D Laboratory Automation Senior Scientist, based at our state-of-the-art labs in Oxford, a typical day might include:

• Collaborating within a cross-functional team to design, develop, and deploy end-to-end laboratory automation
• Creating, modifying, optimising, continuously improving and troubleshooting robotic methods on liquid handling devices (e.g., Hamilton STAR, etc.), integrated systems (e.g., automated lab scheduling software, LIMS/ELN, etc.), and supporting devices
• Conducting validation testing of developed protocols to ensure qualification for release into operation
• Working with instrument vendors and our internal system support team to implement hardware/software upgrades and changes to the existing platforms
• Troubleshooting laboratory automation by liaising with internal subject matter experts and external vendors to perform root cause analysis based on thorough scientific and technical investigations
• Expanding the scope of existing automation by introducing new functionalities
• Sharing knowledge and documenting best practices within the automation team and providing hands-on training to end-users on new equipment, methods, and procedures to independently execute automated workflows
• Partnering with the Digital Biology and Quality teams to automate data flows to ensure data integrity through capture in appropriate electronic systems and high-throughput processing via review by exception
• OPTIONAL: Transferring and revalidating established processes to other Automation core systems
• OPTIONAL: Evaluating novel devices/instruments/technologies for the enhancement of laboratory processes

This role might be for you if you…:

• Can work independently with some supervision
• Have excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Are capable of multi-tasking and prioritising multiple projects at different development stages
• Enjoy collaborating with cross-functional teams in a dynamic research environment
• Possess exceptional problem-solving skills to troubleshoot technical issues
• Are passionate about laboratory automation technologies and are eager to contribute to the design, development, and deployment of new integration projects

The skills that you’ll bring, aka: Qualifications / Requirements:

Essential qualifications:

• At least a bachelor’s degree in life science, engineering, computer science, physics or related field
• Ph.D. with a minimum of 2 years of experience working with automation systems in a research laboratory environment or M.S./B.S. with a minimum 8 years of laboratory automation experience

Must haves:

• Wet lab experience and understanding of molecular biology, genomics, or cell-based assays is
• Experience migrating biological or biochemical assays/methods onto automated systems
• Experience in programming and operating liquid handling methods is required. Programming on Hamilton STAR platforms using Hamilton Venus is
• Experience with complex laboratory workcells and orchestration
• Knowledge of Python and C# programming is desirable
• Basic understanding of scheduling software, robotic integrations, and databases is desirable.
• Experience implementing automated laboratory workflows within the biotechnology or pharmaceutical industries
• Ability to gather, understand, and assign priorities to user requirements for complicated laboratory workflows, and to translate them into robust automated solutions

To be an Ivy Farmer, we need you to have/be:

• Attention to Detail: Commitment to ensuring high standards are met
• Analytical Skills: Strong ability to analyse data and spot trends
• Problem-Solving: Skilled in identifying and resolving issues quickly – innovative and lateral thinking
• Confident communicator, both written and verbal, happy to work with a team in a matrix structure or alone to achieve deadlines
• Excellent time-management & organisational skills

Why Ivy Farm?

At Ivy Farm, you won’t just be part of a company - you’ll be part of a movement. We’re driving innovation that will change the future of food, and we need visionaries like you to help us get there. We offer competitive compensation, opportunities for career growth, and the chance to work on something truly groundbreaking.

We’re an innovative bunch, with a can-do attitude and one that’s unafraid to think differently. We also have project targets, compliance expectations and – as in any fast-growing business – sometimes competing priorities. That’ll be something you have not just experienced previously but somewhere you thrive. We’ll be looking to you to share your expertise and experience with the team. We also realise this may well be your first venture into cultivated meat – and that’s absolutely fine – we have a great team that will be excited to help you get to grips with that.

So, if you’re ready to join an emerging groundbreaking industry, that’s both able to think differently and actively looking to do so, and one where you can make a difference to animal well-being and sustainability then we’re waiting to hear from you!

And just to confirm, here at Ivy Farm, we are an employer that believes in creating a workplace where everyone feels included and valued, no matter who they are.

Total Package:

At Ivy Farm, we believe that every employee should be compensated fairly. Based on the skill and level of experience required for this role.

You will also be eligible for:

• 25 days annual leave + bank holidays
• Company pension contribution 5%
• Private health care from day one
• Shares
• Company Bonus, eligible from day one
• Oodles of amazing fresh ground coffee, tea and snacks
• Company events
• Fabulous super cool office environment, we’re biased, but let’s face it – it’s cool

(no agencies, thank you)