R and D Microbiologist

Charles River Laboratories; Dublin; On-site; EUR 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Charles River Laboratories in Dublin seeks an R&D Scientist to join cross-functional teams that sustain and develop products within Microbial Solutions. You will design experiments, analyze data, and develop bioinformatics pipelines to support endotoxin detection, microbial identification, and related products.

You will present results to stakeholders, collaborate with Operations, Commercial, Technical Services and Quality, and help drive continuous improvement in product development and safety

Qualifications

• Ph.D. or Master’s with an established track record in microbiology, bioinformatics, or related field.
• Experience in R&D or technical operations in microbiology, molecular biology, biochemistry, or related areas.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with global cross-functional R&D teams on technology evaluations and product development.
• Plan, execute, and manage new and existing product application studies for Celsis, Accugenix, and LAL products.
• Develop, test, maintain, and enhance bioinformatics tools supporting NGS applications.
• Analyse datasets, prepare reports, and present results to stakeholders.
• Partner with Operations, Commercial, Technical Services, and Quality across the product lifecycle.
• Provide technical support and scientific expertise to customers and field teams.
• Support site activities such as investigations, deviations, and risk assessments.
• Contribute to SOPs and technical documentation for new product development.
• Deliver training and guidance to colleagues, sales teams, and customers.
• Maintain proficiency in microbiology, biochemistry, bioengineering, and related lab practices.
• Perform method validation and collaborate to ensure technical excellence.
• Ensure compliance with safety, SOPs, and regulatory requirements (FDA, GMP).
• Foster collaboration with internal SMEs to troubleshoot challenges and drive improvements.

Skills

Cross-functional collaboration

Data analysis

Bioinformatics

NGS workflows

Programming

Education

Ph.D. or Master’s + relevant track record

Tools

Python

MATLAB

Job description

For nearly 75 years, Charles River employees have worked together to assist in the discovery, development and safe manufacture of new drug therapies. When you join our family, you will have a significant impact on the health and well-being of people across the globe. Whether your background is in life sciences, finance, IT, sales or another area, your skills will play an important role in the work we perform. In return, we’ll help you build a career that you can feel passionate about.

Job Overview

The R&D Scientist will be responsible for participating with cross functional teams to sustain and develop products and services within Charles River. The role will support expansion of the Microbial Solutions product portfolio comprised of endotoxin detection (Endosafe), microbial detection (Celsis) and microbial identification (Accugenix). They will assist with designing and performing experiments, analysing data, developing bioinformatics pipelines, providing technical support for current products and presenting results to stakeholders. This role will support site operations related to microbial activities and biotechnology product development at the site.

Job Description

• Collaborate with global cross-functional R&D teams on technology evaluations, product development, and application projects.
• Plan, execute, and manage new and existing product application studies for Celsis, Accugenix, and LAL products and instrumentation.
• Develop, test, maintain, and enhance bioinformatics tools and software supporting Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) applications.
• Analyse, interpret, and communicate complex scientific datasets, preparing technical reports, presentations, and recommendations.
• Partner with Operations, Commercial, Technical Services, and Quality teams throughout all stages of the product lifecycle.
• Provide technical support and scientific expertise in response to customer, operational, quality, and field-service inquiries.
• Support site activities such as RCA, investigations, deviations, risk assessments and gap analysis.
• Contribute to the development, review, and maintenance of SOPs, procedures, and technical documentation for new product development.
• Deliver training and technical guidance to colleagues, sales teams, and customers as required.
• Maintain proficiency in microbiology, biochemistry, bioengineering, and other relevant laboratory techniques and practices.
• Perform product-specific test method validation and collaborate with subject matter experts to ensure technical excellence.
• Ensure compliance with laboratory safety standards, departmental procedures, and safety regulations.
• Adherence to regulatory, FDA, GMP, and quality requirements across R&D processes and documentation.
• Foster collaboration with internal subject matter experts to troubleshoot technical challenges and drive continuous improvement.

Minimum Qualifications For Consideration

• Ph.D. or Masters combined with an established track record of experience in related areas such as, microbiology, bioinformatics, biomedical/chemical engineering, molecular biology or related field.
• An established track record of R&D or technical operations industry experience or academic research, post doc and/ or industry experience in microbiology, molecular biology, biochemistry, virology, bioinformatics.
• Experience with next generation sequencing (NGS), with knowledge of NGS workflows (Illumina or ONT) and related data analysis tools.
• Experience with DNA/RNA extractions, DNA sequencing, mass spectroscopy and/or spectroscopy for microbiology applications preferred.
• Experience developing products or services, such as Assays for use in a commercial environment, an advantage,
• Working knowledge of high-performance computing/cloud computing environments an advantage.
• Experience with programming in Python, MATLAB or other related data languages preferred.
• Understanding of FDA, GMP, ISO, and other applicable regulatory requirements.
• Experience preparing technical reports, protocols, and scientific documentation.
• Ability to work effectively in a cross-functional and global team environment.
• Knowledge of quality management systems an advantage.

Competencies

• Excellent communication, presentation and influencing skills, with the ability to convey information to diverse audiences.
• Self-motivated, driven and proactive, demonstrating ownership and accountability for tasks and deliverables.
• Ability to display initiative, identify opportunities for improvement, and independently drive projects forward.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to prioritize workload effectively and manage multiple deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Effective problem solving and decision-making skills, using data driven approaches to address challenges.
• Ability to collaborate across cross-functional teams and develop strong working relationships.
• Results orientated mindset with a commitment to achieving business objectives.
• Adaptable and resilient, with the ability to respond effectively to changing priorities and project requirements.

About Microbial Solutions

Our Microbial Solutions business group has a comprehensive portfolio of endotoxin testing, microbial detection and microbial identification products and services is unlike any other, and has been purposefully designed to meet the complex and ever-changing needs of the industry. We help clients to ensure product safety and quality with easy-to-use yet robust testing solutions that satisfy regulatory requirements, support critical decision making and improve operational efficiencies.

About Charles River

Charles River is an early-stage contract research organization (CRO). We have built upon our foundation of laboratory animal medicine and science to develop a diverse portfolio of discovery and safety assessment services, both Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) and non-GLP, to support clients from target identification through preclinical development. Charles River also provides a suite of products and services to support our clients’ clinical laboratory testing needs and manufacturing activities. Utilizing this broad portfolio of products and services enables our clients to create a more flexible drug development model, which reduces their costs, enhances their productivity and effectiveness to increase speed to market.

With over 20,000 employees within 110 facilities in over 20 countries around the globe, we are strategically positioned to coordinate worldwide resources and apply multidisciplinary perspectives in resolving our client’s unique challenges. Our client base includes global pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, government agencies and hospitals and academic institutions around the world.

At Charles River, we are passionate about our role in improving the quality of people’s lives. Our mission, our excellent science and our strong sense of purpose guide us in all that we do, and we approach each day with the knowledge that our work helps to improve the health and well-being of many across the globe. We have proudly worked on 80% of the drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the past five years.

At Charles River Laboratories, we recognize and recruit all talent. We are a company committed to the principle of diversity and inclusion and work daily in this direction.

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