Senior Scientist I, Automated Cell Biology

Arctoris; Abingdon; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension scheme

Life insurance

Bike to work

Health & well-being support

Remote working opportunities

Job summary

Arctoris is seeking an ambitious cell biologist to join the neuroscience and iPSC team at Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxfordshire. The role focuses on delivering complex neuroscience projects within a commercial drug discovery setting, contributing to client work and collaborative automation projects.

Ideal candidates hold a PhD with 1–3 years’ post-PhD experience in industry, with strong mammalian cell culture and neural model expertise and a track record of high-quality data delivery.

Qualifications

• PhD in Neuroscience, Neurobiology, or related field; ideally 1–3 years post-PhD in industry.
• Experience in drug discovery environments is preferred.
• Strong background in mammalian cell culture and neural models.

Responsibilities

• Design and execute experiments for internal and client projects with guidance from senior team members.
• Perform in vitro experiments and assays with precision and rigor.
• Maintain mammalian, iPSC and neural cell cultures under disease-relevant settings.
• Analyze data and present results in high-quality reports.
• Record detailed experimental documentation and adhere to SOPs.

Skills

Mammalian cell culture

Neural cell models

In vitro assays

Data analysis

SOPs & documentation

Education

PhD in Neuroscience/Neurobiology

Tools

Automation experience

Job description

Company/ Role Overview

We are seeking an ambitious and experienced cell biologist to join our neuroscience and iPSC team at Arctoris, a fast-growing drug discovery services company based on Milton Park in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. The successful candidate will be a highly experienced, hands-on cell biologist with a strong track record of delivering complex neuroscience projects in a commercial drug discovery setting. They will play a crucial role in all aspects of both our client-focused work and collaborative discovery and automation projects.
Applicants must have the right to work in the UK.

Main Responsibilties

Experimental Design & Project Execution

• Support the planning and execution of internal and client research projects to a high standard, under the guidance of senior team members.
• Perform in vitro experiments and assays with precision and rigor.
• Maintain mammalian, iPSC and primary cell cultures across a variety of disease settings (primarily neuroscience, as well as supporting the wider team).
• Perform thorough data analysis, interpretation, and presentation of experiment results (including high-quality written reports).
• Maintain accurate and detailed documentation of all experimental work.
• Follow standard operating procedures (SOPs) to ensure reproducibility and high-quality standards.

Communication & Collaboration

• Communicate effectively on scientific progress during project updates and client meetings.
• Provide accurate feasibility assessments of potential projects to assist the sales and project management teams.
• Work well within a team to optimise processes and learn.

Neuroscience Capability Development

• Support senior colleagues with the scoping of new neuroscience client projects, providing scientific insight into experimental design and feasibility.
• Stay at the forefront of the field, bringing emerging research methodologies into the Arctoris neuroscience portfolio.

Qualifications and Experience

Education & Industrial Background

• PhD in Neuroscience, Neurobiology, or related field.
  Ideally 1-3 years of post-PhD experience, predominantly in an industrial setting.
  Some experience of working in a drug discovery environment.

Technical & Scientific Expertise

• Strong experience in mammalian cell culture and complex cell models, with a strong background in at least one neural cell model such as, neurons, microglia or astrocytes.
  Experience in neurodegenerative and/or neuroinflammatory diseases and complementary advanced in vitro research techniques.
  Cellular assay development expertise for drug screening, including application of appropriate assay validation metrics.
  Implementing, performing, and troubleshooting a broad range of cell-based assays (e.g., high content imaging, flow cytometry, ELISA, luminescence/fluorescence plate-reader assays, qPCR…).
  Advanced instrumentation or automation experience.

Data & Dissemination

• Experience handling small as well as large datasets, including data QC and statistical analysis.
  Proven ability to disseminate research results (e.g., in reports, presentations, and peer-reviewed journal publications).

Why join us?

Culture

• Dedicated, passionate and agile team who are constantly innovating and celebrating team successes
• Flexible and collaborative work culture with extensive development and progression opportunities
• Inclusion, diversity and belonging is core to our success. We embrace everything unique and continue to be proud of our diverse, rich culture. When you are at your best, we are at our best

Benefits

• Highly competitive reward package
• Pension scheme, 4x life insurance and other benefits, including bike to work scheme
• Generous sick pay scheme and enhanced family-friendly policies
• Personalised health and well-being support
• A minimum of 28 days’ annual leave, together with generous flexible and remote working opportunities to ensure you have a great work/life balance
• Regular team events, fresh fruit and snacks and lots of opportunities to socialise and build great relationships