Technical Applications Scientist, IT and Networking

Oxford Nanopore Technologies Ltd; Oxford; Hybrid; GBP 30,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading biotechnology company in Oxford is seeking an IT Support Specialist to diagnose and resolve technical issues while supporting both internal and external users. The successful candidate will have a strong background in server administration and networking, excellent communication skills, and a commitment to customer satisfaction. This hybrid position offers attractive benefits including a generous pension and private healthcare.

Benefits

Attractive bonus

Generous pension contributions

Private healthcare

Excellent starting salary

Qualifications

• Demonstrable experience in server administration.
• Solid grasp of networking fundamentals: IP, DHCP, DNS.
• Basic scripting experience and reading log files.

Responsibilities

• Assist with installation and configuration of ONT products.
• Support customer IT teams with technical issues.
• Partner with various teams to deliver IT support.

Skills

Server administration

Networking fundamentals

Troubleshooting skills

Scripting (Bash, Python, PowerShell)

Customer-facing communication

Education

BSc or MSc in Computer Science or equivalent experience

Tools

Windows Server

Linux

Docker/Singularity

AWS/Azure/GCP

Job description

Role Overview

This exciting and varied role sits within a multi-functional technical team, supporting internal colleagues and external customers. Using 1st and 2nd level IT support, this individual will diagnose, troubleshoot, and resolve issues across computer systems, software, and networks, ensuring flawless operation of Oxford Nanopore's technology. This role involves working closely with scientists and technical teams to assist with experimental design, product installation, workflow implementation, and troubleshooting. This is a hybrid role, based at our office in Oxford.

Responsibilities

• Assist with the installation, configuration and support of ONT products within customer environments, including troubleshooting and resolving technical issues.
• Support customer IT teams and internal commercial staff (including pre-and post-sales) with sophisticated technical issues.
• Partner with various teams to deliver consistent, high-quality IT support and documentation.
• Assist in the design and development of IT infrastructure based on customer needs.
• Support training and information exchange among Sales and Technical Support teams.
• Onboarding and mentoring junior members of the team.

Qualifications & Requirements

• Some travel (about 20%) is a part of this role.
• BSc or MSc in a relevant field such as Computer Science or similar, or industry equivalent experience.
• Demonstrable experience in server administration (Windows Server, Windows Client, Linux).
• Solid grasp of networking fundamentals: IP addressing, DHCP, DNS, level 2 and level 3 routing, subnetting, and firewalls/proxies.
• Familiarity with virtualisation technologies and containerisation (Docker/Singularity).
• Understanding of file sharing protocols (NFS, CIFS) and network protocols (SSH, SFTP, SMTP, HTTP/S).
• Basic scripting experience (Bash, Python, PowerShell, GRPC/HTTPS API) and reading log files.
• Experience with server/HPC hardware, NAS storage, active directory and basic database concepts.
• Excellent troubleshooting skills and customer-facing communication (written and verbal).
• Familiarity and basic experience of cloud services (AWS/Azure/GCP) and cloud job management.
• Bioinformatics knowledge would be a plus.
• You should have an approachable manner that encourages interaction with others and a strong commitment to customer satisfaction. You will be an excellent trouble-shooter and able to manage different priorities.

About Oxford Nanopore Technologies

Oxford Nanopore Technologies: Our goal is to bring the widest benefits to society through enabling the analysis of anything, by anyone, anywhere. The company has developed a new generation of nanopore-based sensing technology for faster, information rich, accessible and affordable molecular analysis. The first application is DNA/RNA sequencing, and the technology is in development for the analysis of other types of molecules including proteins. The technology is used to understand and characterise the biology of humans and diseases such as cancer, plants, animals, bacteria, viruses, and whole environments. With a thriving culture of ambition and strong innovation goals, Oxford Nanopore is a UK headquartered company with global operations and customers in more than 125 countries.

Benefits

• Attractive bonus.
• Generous pension contributions.
• Private healthcare.
• Excellent starting salary.
• Beautiful, landscaped surroundings with tree-lined walks, water features and a lake.