Substrate Bio Ltd
Open roles across robotics, biology, and infrastructure. London-based;some roles remote-friendly. Head of Functional Genomics Location London Employment Type Full time Location Type Hybrid Department Research The opportunity Substrate is building a network of fully autonomous wet labs, cloud-based data production facilities for AI biology, integrated with foundation models to become the critical infrastructure layer for AI-driven biological discovery. Our first node opens in King's Cross, London, with several integrated workcells and two scientific verticals online by mid-2027. Our customers range from foundation model labs to global pharma. We are hiring a Head of Functional Genomics to build and lead the functional genomics vertical from scratch. The vertical covers the full pipeline: cell line engineering, perturbation library design, screen execution, and bulk and single-cell sequencing readouts, with the resulting data feeding customer pipelines that include foundation model training for virtual cell models. This is the second scientific vertical we are bringing online: manual development is starting now, and full autonomous execution on workcells is targeted for mid-to-late 2027. You will own the screening menu, scope it against early customer demand, shape the workcells the screens will eventually run on, and build the team that operates the function at scale. You will be the senior functional genomics scientist in the company at hire. About Substrate Substrate is spinning out of Automata, the UK lab automation company that has built the workcell platform our labs run on. Our four co-founders are Mostafa ElSayed (CEO and founder of Automata), Oli Hoy (formerly VP Customer Experience at Automata), Alexey Morgunov (AI Scientist co-founder, leading the intelligence software product), and a Founding Biology Lead joining shortly. We are aiming to have ramped up to 32 people by the end of Q1 2027. We are funded in parallel by a combination of venture funding and government grants. We are not a cloud lab and we are not a CRO. We are an autonomous lab platform with closed-loop integration available as one operating mode for foundation model partners. The role You will own functional genomics end-to-end. Day one priorities are the scientific pieces of standing up a vertical from scratch: scoping the priority screening menu against early customer demand, developing and validating those screens manually, setting quality thresholds, and hiring the Principal Scientists, Scientists, and Lab Technicians who will operate the function at scale. The vertical will eventually span cell line engineering across catalogue lines and iPSC-derived models, perturbation library design and production, pooled screen execution, and bulk and single-cell sequencing readouts; the day-1 wedge is one end-to-end workflow through these stages, scoped narrowly to a focused starting subset within each, and you decide what that scope looks like. Two parts of the role are not standard, and they are why this role is so crucial to Substrate's success. The first is that the functional genomics vertical is being built AI-first from day one. Every screen is designed from scratch for full AI-in-the-loop automation, not retrofitted onto a manual workflow. You do the work by hand first, exactly as you would in a high-end pharma research lab, and then work with Automata's automation scientists to shape the workcells the screens will eventually run on. You will define the quality thresholds for each transition stage, decide which manual judgement calls have to be re-engineered out, and own the validation that proves equivalence at each step. The second is closed-loop work with foundation model partners. Substrate's distinctive operating mode is producing structured, machine-readable experimental data fast enough to feed directly into foundation model training. That changes how functional genomics screens get designed: cell line provenance, library composition, perturbation metadata, sequencing QC, and consistency across runs become first-class scientific constraints. You will work directly with model partners on screen co-design, and with our software and intelligence teams on how the resulting data flows back into customer pipelines and into Substrate's own data factory. You will also be the executive partner to the co-founders on anything functional-genomics related: the screening roadmap, the proprietary functional genomics dataset programme on the reserved fraction of lab capacity, and the customer conversations where functional genomics depth is decisive. What you will do in your first twelve months PHASE 0: NOW TO AUG 2026 Land in the lab. Set up workspace at our King's Cross site and start manual screen development. Scope the day-1 wedge against early customer demand: which cell line, which perturbation library, which sequencing readout, validated as one end-to-end workflow before the menu starts to expand. Hire the first Principal Scientist and Lab Technician alongside you. Define the roles, run the processes, close the offers. PHASE 1: SEP TO DEC 2026 Develop and validate the first screens manually. Set the reproducibility and quality thresholds that will serve as acceptance criteria for the moves to instrumented and to fully autonomous execution. Co-design protocols with the software and automation engineering teams so that the manual versions you validate are automation-ready by design. Decide which manual judgement calls have to be engineered out before they hit a workcell. Begin co-design conversations with the first commercial customers, including the foundation model partners coming online from mid-2027. PHASE 2: JAN TO MAR 2027 Workcells arrive in the lab. Move the validated screens onto them, running with instrumentation and human intervention in the loop ahead of full autonomous operation later in 2027. Validate equivalence against the manual baselines. Grow the team. Bring on the second Principal Scientist and the first scientists at the bench to support throughput as the screening menu opens to customers. Ship the first revenue on the functional genomics vertical from manual and semi-automated services. Who you are You are an experienced functional genomics scientist who has built or led a screening function at a biotech, pharma R&D, or CRO. You are comfortable in the detail at the bench and you are comfortable setting direction for a team. The shape of the problem is what attracts you: a screening portfolio that has to be designed for autonomous execution from day one, in a business where the data the lab produces is itself part of the product. You have hired and managed scientists, principal scientists, and technicians. You have set quality thresholds and held people to them. You have run screens that supported real customers, internal teams in pharma or biotech or external customers in a CRO setting, and you understand what enterprise-grade scientific operations look like. You are pragmatic about being hands-on at the bench in the first six to nine months, and excited about the team you will build behind you. You enjoy interviewing, hiring, mentoring, and setting standards. You will be in the lab at our King's Cross site at the cadence the science demands. That cadence will be heavy in the manual development phase and ease as the function grows and protocols move onto instrumentation. You are comfortable with that. MUST HAVE Seven or more years of experience in functional genomics or related disciplines (target validation, perturbation screening), with at least three in a senior or team-leading role at a biotech, pharma R&D, or CRO. End-to-end hands-on experience in at least one screening modality (typically CRISPR knockout or CRISPRi knockdown), covering cell line preparation, library design, screen execution, and sequencing readout, with working familiarity across single-cell readouts and validation workflows. Track record of leading a small scientific team end to end: hiring, setting quality standards, and managing performance against scientific outputs. Customer-facing experience, either as a CRO scientific lead working with external customers, or as a pharma or biotech scientist embedded with internal customer teams. NICE TO HAVE Hands-on experience in cell line engineering, particularly iPSC differentiation or CRISPR-edited stable cell line generation. Direct experience moving screens from manual workflows onto lab automation platforms. Familiarity with structured experimental data capture, LIMS, ELN, or analogous data infrastructure. Experience working with computational or AI/ML colleagues on closed-loop perturbation programmes. Background at an AI-native biotech or foundation model company. Why this is unusual Most senior functional genomics roles in industry sit either inside a pharma R&D group (slow iteration, internal customers only), inside a CRO (external customers, faster iteration, but optimised for service throughput rather than scientific decisions about screen design), or inside an AI-native biotech (fast iteration, but a single internal customer in the company's own pipeline). This is none of the three. You will be designing a screening menu that has to be automation-ready from the first manual experiment, working with foundation model labs on closed-loop programmes that do not have a precedent in any of those settings, and owning the proprietary dataset programme that turns the lab itself into a commercial asset. It is also a functional genomics role with significant software and AI surface area. Your design decisions affect what the orchestrator has to do . click apply for full job details
Open roles across robotics, biology, and infrastructure. London-based;some roles remote-friendly. Head of Functional Genomics Location London Employment Type Full time Location Type Hybrid Department Research The opportunity Substrate is building a network of fully autonomous wet labs, cloud-based data production facilities for AI biology, integrated with foundation models to become the critical infrastructure layer for AI-driven biological discovery. Our first node opens in King's Cross, London, with several integrated workcells and two scientific verticals online by mid-2027. Our customers range from foundation model labs to global pharma. We are hiring a Head of Functional Genomics to build and lead the functional genomics vertical from scratch. The vertical covers the full pipeline: cell line engineering, perturbation library design, screen execution, and bulk and single-cell sequencing readouts, with the resulting data feeding customer pipelines that include foundation model training for virtual cell models. This is the second scientific vertical we are bringing online: manual development is starting now, and full autonomous execution on workcells is targeted for mid-to-late 2027. You will own the screening menu, scope it against early customer demand, shape the workcells the screens will eventually run on, and build the team that operates the function at scale. You will be the senior functional genomics scientist in the company at hire. About Substrate Substrate is spinning out of Automata, the UK lab automation company that has built the workcell platform our labs run on. Our four co-founders are Mostafa ElSayed (CEO and founder of Automata), Oli Hoy (formerly VP Customer Experience at Automata), Alexey Morgunov (AI Scientist co-founder, leading the intelligence software product), and a Founding Biology Lead joining shortly. We are aiming to have ramped up to 32 people by the end of Q1 2027. We are funded in parallel by a combination of venture funding and government grants. We are not a cloud lab and we are not a CRO. We are an autonomous lab platform with closed-loop integration available as one operating mode for foundation model partners. The role You will own functional genomics end-to-end. Day one priorities are the scientific pieces of standing up a vertical from scratch: scoping the priority screening menu against early customer demand, developing and validating those screens manually, setting quality thresholds, and hiring the Principal Scientists, Scientists, and Lab Technicians who will operate the function at scale. The vertical will eventually span cell line engineering across catalogue lines and iPSC-derived models, perturbation library design and production, pooled screen execution, and bulk and single-cell sequencing readouts; the day-1 wedge is one end-to-end workflow through these stages, scoped narrowly to a focused starting subset within each, and you decide what that scope looks like. Two parts of the role are not standard, and they are why this role is so crucial to Substrate's success. The first is that the functional genomics vertical is being built AI-first from day one. Every screen is designed from scratch for full AI-in-the-loop automation, not retrofitted onto a manual workflow. You do the work by hand first, exactly as you would in a high-end pharma research lab, and then work with Automata's automation scientists to shape the workcells the screens will eventually run on. You will define the quality thresholds for each transition stage, decide which manual judgement calls have to be re-engineered out, and own the validation that proves equivalence at each step. The second is closed-loop work with foundation model partners. Substrate's distinctive operating mode is producing structured, machine-readable experimental data fast enough to feed directly into foundation model training. That changes how functional genomics screens get designed: cell line provenance, library composition, perturbation metadata, sequencing QC, and consistency across runs become first-class scientific constraints. You will work directly with model partners on screen co-design, and with our software and intelligence teams on how the resulting data flows back into customer pipelines and into Substrate's own data factory. You will also be the executive partner to the co-founders on anything functional-genomics related: the screening roadmap, the proprietary functional genomics dataset programme on the reserved fraction of lab capacity, and the customer conversations where functional genomics depth is decisive. What you will do in your first twelve months PHASE 0: NOW TO AUG 2026 Land in the lab. Set up workspace at our King's Cross site and start manual screen development. Scope the day-1 wedge against early customer demand: which cell line, which perturbation library, which sequencing readout, validated as one end-to-end workflow before the menu starts to expand. Hire the first Principal Scientist and Lab Technician alongside you. Define the roles, run the processes, close the offers. PHASE 1: SEP TO DEC 2026 Develop and validate the first screens manually. Set the reproducibility and quality thresholds that will serve as acceptance criteria for the moves to instrumented and to fully autonomous execution. Co-design protocols with the software and automation engineering teams so that the manual versions you validate are automation-ready by design. Decide which manual judgement calls have to be engineered out before they hit a workcell. Begin co-design conversations with the first commercial customers, including the foundation model partners coming online from mid-2027. PHASE 2: JAN TO MAR 2027 Workcells arrive in the lab. Move the validated screens onto them, running with instrumentation and human intervention in the loop ahead of full autonomous operation later in 2027. Validate equivalence against the manual baselines. Grow the team. Bring on the second Principal Scientist and the first scientists at the bench to support throughput as the screening menu opens to customers. Ship the first revenue on the functional genomics vertical from manual and semi-automated services. Who you are You are an experienced functional genomics scientist who has built or led a screening function at a biotech, pharma R&D, or CRO. You are comfortable in the detail at the bench and you are comfortable setting direction for a team. The shape of the problem is what attracts you: a screening portfolio that has to be designed for autonomous execution from day one, in a business where the data the lab produces is itself part of the product. You have hired and managed scientists, principal scientists, and technicians. You have set quality thresholds and held people to them. You have run screens that supported real customers, internal teams in pharma or biotech or external customers in a CRO setting, and you understand what enterprise-grade scientific operations look like. You are pragmatic about being hands-on at the bench in the first six to nine months, and excited about the team you will build behind you. You enjoy interviewing, hiring, mentoring, and setting standards. You will be in the lab at our King's Cross site at the cadence the science demands. That cadence will be heavy in the manual development phase and ease as the function grows and protocols move onto instrumentation. You are comfortable with that. MUST HAVE Seven or more years of experience in functional genomics or related disciplines (target validation, perturbation screening), with at least three in a senior or team-leading role at a biotech, pharma R&D, or CRO. End-to-end hands-on experience in at least one screening modality (typically CRISPR knockout or CRISPRi knockdown), covering cell line preparation, library design, screen execution, and sequencing readout, with working familiarity across single-cell readouts and validation workflows. Track record of leading a small scientific team end to end: hiring, setting quality standards, and managing performance against scientific outputs. Customer-facing experience, either as a CRO scientific lead working with external customers, or as a pharma or biotech scientist embedded with internal customer teams. NICE TO HAVE Hands-on experience in cell line engineering, particularly iPSC differentiation or CRISPR-edited stable cell line generation. Direct experience moving screens from manual workflows onto lab automation platforms. Familiarity with structured experimental data capture, LIMS, ELN, or analogous data infrastructure. Experience working with computational or AI/ML colleagues on closed-loop perturbation programmes. Background at an AI-native biotech or foundation model company. Why this is unusual Most senior functional genomics roles in industry sit either inside a pharma R&D group (slow iteration, internal customers only), inside a CRO (external customers, faster iteration, but optimised for service throughput rather than scientific decisions about screen design), or inside an AI-native biotech (fast iteration, but a single internal customer in the company's own pipeline). This is none of the three. You will be designing a screening menu that has to be automation-ready from the first manual experiment, working with foundation model labs on closed-loop programmes that do not have a precedent in any of those settings, and owning the proprietary dataset programme that turns the lab itself into a commercial asset. It is also a functional genomics role with significant software and AI surface area. Your design decisions affect what the orchestrator has to do . click apply for full job details
Substrate Bio Ltd
Open roles across robotics, biology, and infrastructure. London-based;some roles remote-friendly. Molecular Characterisation Scientist, Biologics Location London Employment Type Full time Location Type On-site Department Research The opportunity Substrate is building the molecular characterisation cascade that turns purified protein into trustworthy, quality-controlled, biophysically characterised data at scale, and you will build it from the first manual run. This is the work downstream of protein production and upstream of functional assays: quality control, binding, stability, and developability, developed by hand and engineered to move onto automation. The data this cascade produces is the product. Substrate is the critical infrastructure layer between AI and biology, and biological foundation models can predict but cannot experiment; the high quality, large scale data they need does not exist yet. Your work at the bench is what brings it into existence. About Substrate Substrate is building the critical infrastructure layer between AI and biology: an AI native automated lab that produces biological data at scale. AI for biology has a data problem, not a compute problem. Biological foundation models can predict but cannot experiment, and the high quality, large scale data they need does not exist. Substrate generates it, with quality and provenance built in. We are not a CRO and we are not a cloud lab. The company was founded by four co founders and is funded through a combination of equity and debt. The first lab is in London, with a larger automation node to follow. The work starts with two scientific verticals, protein characterisation and functional genomics, and this role sits at the heart of the protein characterisation work. The role You will build the molecular characterisation cascade that sits downstream of protein production and upstream of functional assays: the biophysical, analytical, and developability assays that decide what each molecule is and whether it holds up. The cascade will eventually run autonomously on Substrate's automation platform. In the first phase, you develop each assay by hand, running protocols manually, setting reproducibility and quality thresholds, and proving each assay out before it moves onto instrumentation. As the automation platform comes online, the work shifts toward instrumented execution, equivalence validation, and the engineering judgement calls that decide which manual steps get automated and which stay in human hands. Every level works directly with the automation engineering and software teams on the boundary between scientific protocols and autonomous execution. We are hiring across three levels Principal Scientists own a slice of the assay menu end to end: scoping, designing the manual protocol, validating it to acceptance thresholds, authoring the SOPs that translate into automation design, and seeing it through to automated execution. Scientists work alongside Principal Scientists at the bench, executing the experiments, contributing to validation work, and growing into protocol authorship over the first year. Lab Technicians are the hands on execution layer: following established SOPs, preparing reagents and consumables, maintaining equipment, and running routine steps of validated protocols so that Scientists and Principal Scientists can focus on design and troubleshooting. What you will do in your first twelve months Phase 0 - Now to AUG 2026 Land in the lab. Set up your bench at the London site and start manual assay development alongside a senior member of the protein sciences vertical. Get hands on the first priority characterisation assays as the day one menu locks. Start building QC (purity, concentration, oligomeric state), binding (SPR or BLI), and stability (nanoDSF, DLS) readouts. Run them by hand on equipment that will eventually move onto the automation platform, capturing the data structure and metadata decisions that translate into automation design. Build reproducibility, precision, and acceptance thresholds into the workflow. Contribute to the day one menu decisions and begin authoring SOPs for your slice of the assay portfolio. Help interview the scientists and lab technicians joining alongside you. Phase 1 - SEP to DEC 2026 Develop and validate a QC (purity, concentration, oligomeric state), binding (SPR or BLI), and stability (nanoDSF, DLS) workflow, first manually and then in a semi automated state, running at a scale of hundreds to a thousand samples per week and ready for full automation. Begin development of a developability package (HIC, heparin binding, AC SINS, and similar), with assay design guided primarily by downstream automation compatibility. Co design protocols with the software and automation engineering teams so the manual versions you validate are automation ready by design. Decide which manual judgement calls have to be engineered out before they reach the platform. Contribute to co design conversations with the first commercial customers, including the foundation model partners coming online from 2027. Phase 2 - JAN to MAR 2027 Workcells arrive in the lab. Move the validated assays onto them, running with instrumentation and human intervention in the loop. Validate equivalence against your manual baselines and triage failures. Open the assay menu to customers through manual and semi automated services. Run real experiments for real customers. Help bring on the next scientists and lab technicians as the vertical grows. Who you are You are a protein scientist who is excited about the actual work: designing, validating, and running biophysical and developability assays at the bench. You are comfortable in the details. You have hands on experience collecting and analysing binding kinetics and affinity data, and assessing the developability of biologics. The shape of the problem is what attracts you: assays designed for autonomous execution from day one, in a business where the data the lab produces is itself the product. You write good SOPs, and you hold yourself and your colleagues to clear reproducibility thresholds. You are pragmatic about being hands on in the early phase, when the cadence is heaviest, and you understand it eases as protocols move onto instrumentation. You enjoy working at the boundary with non biologist colleagues (automation engineers, software engineers, AI researchers), and you do not require them to be scientifically fluent before you will collaborate. We are hiring across three tiers: Lab Technician, Scientist, and Principal Scientist. The work is hands on bench science at all levels, with collaboration into automation and software; the difference is depth of ownership, design authority, and responsibility. We do not hire people into boxes, and the early team stretches beyond the strict edges of any role. Must Have - All Three Tiers Hands on experience with biophysical and/or analytical instrumentation for protein characterisation. Comfortable executing assays in a high throughput format through manual, semi automated, and instrumented phases. A track record of working alongside non scientist colleagues (automation, software, computational) on a shared workflow. Must Have - Lab Technician Relevant hands on lab experience, including apprenticeships or technician roles, is the primary consideration. Comfortable following written SOPs precisely and flagging deviations. You do not need to design experiments, but you do need to execute them reliably and communicate clearly when something looks off. Hands on familiarity with basic wet lab technique: accurate pipetting, buffer and reagent preparation, sample handling, plate setup, and instrument use. Exposure to plate readers, chromatography systems (HPLC), biophysical instruments (nanoDSF, DLS, SPR/BLI), or semi automated workflows (plate based liquid handlers) is helpful but not required. Comfortable in a fast paced, early stage environment where protocols are still being written. You are methodical, safety conscious, and do not take shortcuts. Aware of structured experimental data capture, and able to use a LIMS, ELN, or analogous infrastructure. Must Have - Scientist A PhD in protein biophysics, analytical characterisation, or biologics developability, with two or more years of relevant hands on experience; or an MSc with five years of experience in the same area. Independent, hands on competence on at least one biophysical binding platform (SPR or BLI), plus one or more orthogonal characterisation or developability assays (for example nanoDSF/DSF, DLS, analytical SEC, HIC, AC SINS, cIEF, or PAIA). Some exposure to one or more of these areas at high throughput (96 and 384 well plate formats). Confident data analysis: kinetics fitting and interpretation, and telling instrument artefacts apart from genuine molecule behaviour. Fluency with structured experimental data capture, and proficiency with a LIMS, ELN, or analogous infrastructure. Ready to grow into protocol authorship and SOP ownership over the first twelve months. Must Have - Principal Scientist A PhD in protein biochemistry, biophysics, analytical characterisation, or biologics developability, with five or more years of relevant hands on experience (at least two in industry); or a relevant science MSc with eight years of equivalent bench experience in protein science (at least two in industry). Independent, extensive experience with biologics characterisation workflows across at least three core areas, such as full SPR/BLI kinetics . click apply for full job details
Open roles across robotics, biology, and infrastructure. London-based;some roles remote-friendly. Molecular Characterisation Scientist, Biologics Location London Employment Type Full time Location Type On-site Department Research The opportunity Substrate is building the molecular characterisation cascade that turns purified protein into trustworthy, quality-controlled, biophysically characterised data at scale, and you will build it from the first manual run. This is the work downstream of protein production and upstream of functional assays: quality control, binding, stability, and developability, developed by hand and engineered to move onto automation. The data this cascade produces is the product. Substrate is the critical infrastructure layer between AI and biology, and biological foundation models can predict but cannot experiment; the high quality, large scale data they need does not exist yet. Your work at the bench is what brings it into existence. About Substrate Substrate is building the critical infrastructure layer between AI and biology: an AI native automated lab that produces biological data at scale. AI for biology has a data problem, not a compute problem. Biological foundation models can predict but cannot experiment, and the high quality, large scale data they need does not exist. Substrate generates it, with quality and provenance built in. We are not a CRO and we are not a cloud lab. The company was founded by four co founders and is funded through a combination of equity and debt. The first lab is in London, with a larger automation node to follow. The work starts with two scientific verticals, protein characterisation and functional genomics, and this role sits at the heart of the protein characterisation work. The role You will build the molecular characterisation cascade that sits downstream of protein production and upstream of functional assays: the biophysical, analytical, and developability assays that decide what each molecule is and whether it holds up. The cascade will eventually run autonomously on Substrate's automation platform. In the first phase, you develop each assay by hand, running protocols manually, setting reproducibility and quality thresholds, and proving each assay out before it moves onto instrumentation. As the automation platform comes online, the work shifts toward instrumented execution, equivalence validation, and the engineering judgement calls that decide which manual steps get automated and which stay in human hands. Every level works directly with the automation engineering and software teams on the boundary between scientific protocols and autonomous execution. We are hiring across three levels Principal Scientists own a slice of the assay menu end to end: scoping, designing the manual protocol, validating it to acceptance thresholds, authoring the SOPs that translate into automation design, and seeing it through to automated execution. Scientists work alongside Principal Scientists at the bench, executing the experiments, contributing to validation work, and growing into protocol authorship over the first year. Lab Technicians are the hands on execution layer: following established SOPs, preparing reagents and consumables, maintaining equipment, and running routine steps of validated protocols so that Scientists and Principal Scientists can focus on design and troubleshooting. What you will do in your first twelve months Phase 0 - Now to AUG 2026 Land in the lab. Set up your bench at the London site and start manual assay development alongside a senior member of the protein sciences vertical. Get hands on the first priority characterisation assays as the day one menu locks. Start building QC (purity, concentration, oligomeric state), binding (SPR or BLI), and stability (nanoDSF, DLS) readouts. Run them by hand on equipment that will eventually move onto the automation platform, capturing the data structure and metadata decisions that translate into automation design. Build reproducibility, precision, and acceptance thresholds into the workflow. Contribute to the day one menu decisions and begin authoring SOPs for your slice of the assay portfolio. Help interview the scientists and lab technicians joining alongside you. Phase 1 - SEP to DEC 2026 Develop and validate a QC (purity, concentration, oligomeric state), binding (SPR or BLI), and stability (nanoDSF, DLS) workflow, first manually and then in a semi automated state, running at a scale of hundreds to a thousand samples per week and ready for full automation. Begin development of a developability package (HIC, heparin binding, AC SINS, and similar), with assay design guided primarily by downstream automation compatibility. Co design protocols with the software and automation engineering teams so the manual versions you validate are automation ready by design. Decide which manual judgement calls have to be engineered out before they reach the platform. Contribute to co design conversations with the first commercial customers, including the foundation model partners coming online from 2027. Phase 2 - JAN to MAR 2027 Workcells arrive in the lab. Move the validated assays onto them, running with instrumentation and human intervention in the loop. Validate equivalence against your manual baselines and triage failures. Open the assay menu to customers through manual and semi automated services. Run real experiments for real customers. Help bring on the next scientists and lab technicians as the vertical grows. Who you are You are a protein scientist who is excited about the actual work: designing, validating, and running biophysical and developability assays at the bench. You are comfortable in the details. You have hands on experience collecting and analysing binding kinetics and affinity data, and assessing the developability of biologics. The shape of the problem is what attracts you: assays designed for autonomous execution from day one, in a business where the data the lab produces is itself the product. You write good SOPs, and you hold yourself and your colleagues to clear reproducibility thresholds. You are pragmatic about being hands on in the early phase, when the cadence is heaviest, and you understand it eases as protocols move onto instrumentation. You enjoy working at the boundary with non biologist colleagues (automation engineers, software engineers, AI researchers), and you do not require them to be scientifically fluent before you will collaborate. We are hiring across three tiers: Lab Technician, Scientist, and Principal Scientist. The work is hands on bench science at all levels, with collaboration into automation and software; the difference is depth of ownership, design authority, and responsibility. We do not hire people into boxes, and the early team stretches beyond the strict edges of any role. Must Have - All Three Tiers Hands on experience with biophysical and/or analytical instrumentation for protein characterisation. Comfortable executing assays in a high throughput format through manual, semi automated, and instrumented phases. A track record of working alongside non scientist colleagues (automation, software, computational) on a shared workflow. Must Have - Lab Technician Relevant hands on lab experience, including apprenticeships or technician roles, is the primary consideration. Comfortable following written SOPs precisely and flagging deviations. You do not need to design experiments, but you do need to execute them reliably and communicate clearly when something looks off. Hands on familiarity with basic wet lab technique: accurate pipetting, buffer and reagent preparation, sample handling, plate setup, and instrument use. Exposure to plate readers, chromatography systems (HPLC), biophysical instruments (nanoDSF, DLS, SPR/BLI), or semi automated workflows (plate based liquid handlers) is helpful but not required. Comfortable in a fast paced, early stage environment where protocols are still being written. You are methodical, safety conscious, and do not take shortcuts. Aware of structured experimental data capture, and able to use a LIMS, ELN, or analogous infrastructure. Must Have - Scientist A PhD in protein biophysics, analytical characterisation, or biologics developability, with two or more years of relevant hands on experience; or an MSc with five years of experience in the same area. Independent, hands on competence on at least one biophysical binding platform (SPR or BLI), plus one or more orthogonal characterisation or developability assays (for example nanoDSF/DSF, DLS, analytical SEC, HIC, AC SINS, cIEF, or PAIA). Some exposure to one or more of these areas at high throughput (96 and 384 well plate formats). Confident data analysis: kinetics fitting and interpretation, and telling instrument artefacts apart from genuine molecule behaviour. Fluency with structured experimental data capture, and proficiency with a LIMS, ELN, or analogous infrastructure. Ready to grow into protocol authorship and SOP ownership over the first twelve months. Must Have - Principal Scientist A PhD in protein biochemistry, biophysics, analytical characterisation, or biologics developability, with five or more years of relevant hands on experience (at least two in industry); or a relevant science MSc with eight years of equivalent bench experience in protein science (at least two in industry). Independent, extensive experience with biologics characterisation workflows across at least three core areas, such as full SPR/BLI kinetics . click apply for full job details