Scientific Technician

Wild Bioscience; Abingdon; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 35,000

Job description

Who we are:

At Wild Bio we are radically enhancing crops to feed the world sustainably and promote a wilder planet. Wild plants have had half a billion years to evolve natural solutions for thriving in almost every environment on Earth. Our proprietary genetics platform harnesses these wild innovations to enhance the world’s most important crops. Wild-enhanced crops would simultaneously boost farm yields and promote gigaton-scale carbon mitigation strategies. If you’re looking for a start-up that has enormous potential for impact on growers, consumers, and the planet, please read on.

Wild Bio is a well-funded, fast-paced Oxford University spin-out working from state-of-the-art labs and offices at Milton Park, Oxfordshire. We are about to enter an exciting phase of growth and are looking for a driven, and curious Scientific Technician to join us and significantly contribute to delivering the change we believe in.

The role:

We are looking for a motivated Technician with a background in Plant Science to support our research and development initiatives.

Detailed responsibilities:

Working with a team of scientists and technicians, the scientific technician is responsible for day-to-day execution within our molecular biology and plant sciences labs. You will provide general lab support to the broader team, whilst also undertaking some more specialist molecular biology and plant physiology routine protocols.

• Preparing materials, solutions, and equipment for experiments, and performing routine tasks like sampling, plant maintenance, nucleic acid extractions, PCR, and phenotyping.
• Following SOPs to ensure consistent and high-quality operations.
• Helping run genotyping pipelines for wheat, soybean, and maize, including using an LHS robot; assisting with primer design and maintaining genotyping reagents inventory.
• Collecting, organizing, and analysing phenotyping and genotyping data.
• Assisting with plant gas-exchange measurements using Li-Cor equipment.
• Maintaining accurate experimental records, updating the Electronic Lab Notebook (ELN) and genotyping/phenotyping databases, assisting with presentations, and reporting results in meetings.
• Assisting with research experiments (e.g., RNA extractions, enzyme assays) and following experimental protocols under senior researchers' guidance.
• Working with multidisciplinary teams on research projects, assisting with troubleshooting, writing and reviewing SOPs.

Knowledge and skills:

• Bachelor’s degree in science, or evidence of equivalent work experience.
• Be a team player in a multi-disciplinary environment, building relationships, and gaining trust from others through honesty, compassion, and authenticity.
• Have a curious and courageous mindset, enjoy stepping up to try new things in a changing environment, and taking initiative where there is often ambiguity.
• Want to seek out new opportunities to develop, share learnings with others, and strive to support others in their own development and growth.
• Challenge established approaches with the aim of improving the system.
• Take initiative where needed with tasks that have not been assigned.

Benefits:

• Group life cover x 3 of base salary.
• Pension.
• Private medical insurance.
• Enhanced maternity and paternity pay.
• Cycle to work scheme and instant discounts.
• Employee Assistance Programme and mental health support.
• Regular company socials.
• Complimentary refreshments throughout the week.
• Team meals including breakfast on a Monday and lunch each Friday, creating opportunities for informal networking and team bonding.
• Training and development opportunities.
• Flexible working opportunities.
• Opportunity to work with cutting edge science.

Location:

We’re headquartered in Milton Park, a business and technology park in Oxfordshire. We are a small, fast-paced team working on cutting-edge science, and we believe the relationships forged and the work we do in-person will be crucial for our success. For this reason, we are asking that applicants be able to work on-site.

The successful candidate will be required to provide proof of eligibility to work in the UK.