Senior Scientist, Immunology

Recursion; United Kingdom; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 94,000; Full time

Job summary

A tech-driven biotech company is seeking a Senior Scientist in Oxford to join their Experimental Immunology team. The role involves designing and executing complex in vitro assays, driving projects through all stages of drug discovery, and leading scientific initiatives. Candidates should hold a Ph.D. in Immunology or a related field with extensive hands-on experience in primary human immune assays. The position offers competitive compensation and a collaborative environment focusing on innovative solutions for therapeutic development.

Benefits

Annual bonus

Equity compensation

Comprehensive benefits package

Qualifications

• Ph.D. or relevant M.Sc. with experience in pharmaceutical/biotech.
• Hands-on skills with human immune cell assays.
• Knowledge of gut inflammation and translational models.

Responsibilities

• Design and execute in vitro assays with primary human cells.
• Drive projects from target validation to portfolio adoption.
• Lead scientific initiatives in drug discovery programs.

Skills

In vitro assay design

Immunology expertise

Data analysis

Communication skills

Education

Ph.D. in Immunology or related discipline

Tools

Flow cytometry

ELISA

High-content imaging

Job description

Your work will change lives. Including your own.

The Impact You’ll Make

We are seeking an innovative Senior Scientist to join our Experimental Immunology team. In this primarily lab-based role, you will provide critical cellular data to support therapeutic projects, often venturing into areas of novel biology. You will work closely with the Recursion Discovery team to uncover solutions for a variety of target classes and I&I indications. You will have the freedom to design, plan, and execute complex experiments. You will drive projects from target ideation and validation through to adoption into the portfolio, with opportunities to take on project leadership roles. Working in our newly built laboratories with access to state-of-the-art assay technologies (FRET, Luminescence, FACS, High‑Content Imaging) and advanced automation you will be encouraged to evaluate and deploy the latest scientific developments to create efficient processes. You will develop translationally relevant screening assays and function as a core immunology expert within project teams. This role offers substantial scope for continuous learning, with exposure to all stages and disciplines of the drug discovery process. You will also have the opportunity to present your findings both internally and externally.

In this role, you will:

• Design and execute complex in vitro assays using primary human immune cells and patient-derived tissues for use in target validation, mechanism of action studies and small molecule screening.
• Drive projects through the entire development lifecycle, from initial target ideation and validation to formal adoption into the company portfolio.
• Deploy state-of-the-art technologies such as flow cytometry and high‑content imaging to address key scientific questions.
• Lead scientific initiatives and early drug discovery programs by evaluating the latest scientific developments and managing external collaborations to generate critical model data.
• Provide immunology expertise to guide in vitro and in vivo workstreams in cross‑functional matrix project teams.

The Team You’ll Join

You will be joining an established immunology group consisting of several experienced immunologists. The experimental immunology team work on a wide range of projects spanning target ideation through to advanced preclinical programs. You will lead project strategy and execution within a small group of project leaders, and collaborate extensively with data scientists, chemists, and biologists throughout the organization and externally, to advance milestones and provide insights to further advance Recursion’s capabilities.

The Experience You’ll Need

• Ph.D. in Immunology or a related discipline or a BSc/MSc degree with significant relevant experience, preferably in the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industry.
• Extensive hands‑on experience in designing, executing and optimizing in vitro assays utilizing primary human immune cells/patient‑derived tissue.
• In‑depth understanding of gut inflammation and knowledge of in vitro relevant translational and in vivo models.
• Experience of screening small molecules and working on a drug discovery program and in‑depth knowledge of data analysis including dose‑response relationships.
• Exposure to a wide range of assay technologies such as ELISA, FRET, RT‑PCR, flow cytometry and imaging with experience in target validation studies.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, both written and verbal, with ability to communicate technical information to a non‑specialist audience while working across multiple projects.

Working Location & Compensation:

This is a laboratory‑based role in our Oxford office. Employees are expected to work in the office at least 50% of the time.

At Recursion, we believe that every employee should be compensated fairly. Based on the skill and level of experience required for this role, the estimated current annual base range for this role is £70,400 to £93,500. You will also be eligible for an annual bonus and equity compensation, as well as a comprehensive benefits package.

The Values We Hope You Share:

• We act boldly with integrity. We are unconstrained in our thinking, take calculated risks, and push boundaries, but never at the expense of ethics, science, or trust.
• We care deeply and engage directly. Caring means holding a deep sense of responsibility and respect—showing up, speaking honestly, and taking action.
• We learn actively and adapt rapidly. Progress comes from doing. We experiment, test, and refine, embracing iteration over perfection.
• We move with urgency because patients are waiting. Speed isn’t about rushing but about moving the needle every day.
• We take ownership and accountability. Through ownership and accountability, we enable trust and autonomy—leaders take accountability for decisive action, and teams own outcomes together.
• We are One Recursion. True cross‑functional collaboration is about trust, clarity, humility, and impact. Through sharing, we can be greater than the sum of our individual capabilities.

More About Recursion

Recursion (NASDAQ: RXRX) is a clinical‑stage TechBio company leading the space by decoding biology to radically improve lives. Enabling its mission is the Recursion OS, a platform built across diverse technologies that continuously generate one of the world’s largest proprietary biological and chemical datasets. Recursion leverages sophisticated machine‑learning algorithms to distill from its dataset a collection of trillions of searchable relationships across biology and chemistry unconstrained by human bias. By commanding massive experimental scale — up to millions of wet‑lab experiments weekly — and massive computational scale — owning and operating one of the most powerful super‑computers in the world — Recursion is uniting technology, biology, and chemistry to advance the future of medicine.

Recursion is headquartered in Salt Lake City, where it is a founding member of BioHive, the Utah life sciences industry collective. Recursion also has offices in Toronto, Montréal, New York, London, Oxford area, and the San Francisco Bay area. Learn more at www.Recursion.com, or connect on X (formerly Twitter) and LinkedIn.

Recursion is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state, local, or provincial human rights legislation.

Accommodations are available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process.

Recruitment & Staffing Agencies

Recursion Pharmaceuticals and its affiliate companies do not accept resumes from any source other than candidates. The submission of resumes by recruitment or staffing agencies to Recursion or its employees is strictly prohibited unless contacted directly by Recursion’s internal Talent Acquisition team. Any resume submitted by an agency in the absence of a signed agreement will automatically become the property of Recursion, and Recursion will not owe any referral or other fees. Our team will communicate directly with candidates who are not represented by an agent or intermediary unless otherwise agreed to prior to interviewing for the job.

Equal Opportunity Employment Information (Recursion)

We are committed to a high‑performing workplace where everyone feels like they belong and can do the best work of their careers. We reward merit and contribution as we strive for a workplace that reflects the communities in which we operate and the patients we intend to serve. To this end, we invite you to self‑identify your race/ethnicity and gender. This information will be kept confidential and will not be used to favor or discriminate against any candidate. It will not be shared with the hiring managers or otherwise considered as part of your application. Submission of this information is voluntary and refusal to provide any or all of the information requested will not subject you to any adverse treatment.