Scientist II

Job title: Scientist II (Infectious Disease team)

Reports to: Product Development Team Leader (Infectious Disease team)

Location: Manchester Science Park

Contract Type: Full-time, Permanent

Salary & Benefits: Competitive Salary + Benefits Package

About Yourgene Health:

Yourgene Health is a leading integrated technologies and services business, enabling the delivery of genomic medicine. The group works in partnership with global leaders in DNA technology to advance diagnostic science.

Yourgene primarily develops, manufactures, and commercialises simple and accurate molecular diagnostic solutions, for reproductive health, precision medicine and infectious diseases. The Group\’s flagship in vitro diagnostic products include non -invasive prenatal tests (NIPT) for Down\’s Syndrome and other genetic disorders, Cystic Fibrosis screening tests, invasive rapid aneuploidy tests and DPYD genotyping.

Yourgene has a range of innovative DNA sample preparation platforms, powered by Ranger® Technology, the Yourgene LightBench® and Yourgene QS250, ideal for cell free DNA applications in NIPT and oncology including liquid biopsy.

Yourgene also has a global laboratory service network equipped to be a full life-cycle partner for clinical, research and pharmaceutical organisations to support partners at the preclinical, clinical, and post market stage to develop, manufacture, obtain regulatory approval and commercialise new products and services. In addition, Yourgene offers and NIPT and high throughput Covid testing service.

Yourgene Health is headquartered in Manchester, UK with facilities in Taipei, Singapore, the US, and Canada.

Our Culture:

Yourgene is a growing, vibrant and exciting place to work, we are looking for committed driven individuals to be part of our next growth journey. Our culture is described by our employee\’s as collegiate, friendly, professional, innovative, open and fast paced. We have nay social and well-being initiatives run by our Social Huddle that keep our sense of community alive during challenging times that the pandemic has thrown our way. At Yourgene we focus on putting values led programmes in place to ensure that we can attract, retain and develop our people. We want our people to have a career with Yourgene and we ensure that they are recognised and rewarded for their achievements and commitment, everyone plays a critical role in our growth journey.

Description of role:

Yourgene Health, part of the Novacyt Group, are recruiting for a Scientist II to design, develop, verify and validate our Infectious Disease product range under ISO13485 and ISO9001 quality systems. The role will develop both research use only (RUO) and CEIVD regulated assays using highly sensitive PCR, qPCR, dPCR and isothermal technologies and the DNA/RNA extraction chemistries that work in tandem with these assays.

Overall responsibility:

The Scientist II will provide scientific expertise on infectious disease development projects, ensuring experimental work is well planned and executed to a high quality level in a timely fashion.

Key areas of responsibility:

• Provides scientific expertise and input into experiments through to project work-packages
• Lead planning, execution and reporting of defined project experiments and work-packages
• Work collaboratively with other scientists to create products and processes which meet the user needs of our customers
• Support cross functional collaboration, which may also include leading projects
• Create, maintain and improve laboratory SOPs, as well as systems and process SOPs
• Design and execute effective and efficient studies involving:
• Accurate and timely documentation
• Developing and implementing protocols to show that tests meet acceptance criteria
• Processing clinical samples to demonstrate clinical validity
• Data generation, ensuring integrity and organized data management
• Provide accurate and independent data interpretation, building experience of systems-level thinking
• Determining test parameters, such as output specifications
• Meeting regulatory or other requirements
• Lead troubleshooting activities when technical issues arise
• Team specific responsibilities:
• Innovation: Delivery of value-add innovative ideas for transfer into assay development
• Assay Development: Delivery of optimised assays and workflows for products and services
• Validation: Delivery of validated tests and systems for products and services
• Design Transfer: Delivery of tests and systems for products and services to Operations functions
• Participate in activities outside of own team, such as Innovation, Assay Development, Automation, Validation and Design Transfer, where required
• Perform laboratory maintenance tasks such as lab maintenance, stock monitoring, goods in receiving and cleaning
• Ensure own work meets regulatory & quality requirements (including compliance to SOPs, documentation using lab books, study plans, study reports and integrity of data)
• Support and provide guidance to junior staff

Qualifications, Skills and Abilities:

• Degree or further degree (or equivalent) in a life science such as molecular biology, biochemistry or genetics
• Experience of using bioinformatics tools as part of assay design is highly desirable
• Typically 5+ years of relevant experience
• Experience in the development, verification and validation of molecular diagnostic assays in adherence with CE marking and/or design control regulations
• Hands on experience with at least two molecular biology-based assays and techniques
• Capable of analysing data and providing interpretation
• Capable of independently performing experimental design and execution
• Enthusiasm, drive, thoroughness, diligence and a willingness to take personal responsibility to ensure that projects are successful
• Good organisational skills and thrives on working to tight timelines
• Can summarize scientific data in written form to effectively communicate plans, progress and ideas with Management, Peers or External Audiences
• Good IT skills, including Microsoft Office suite

Closing Date:

Sunday 27th July, 2025

Equal opportunities:

Yourgene Health and the Novacyt Group of companies provides equal employment opportunities for all current employees and applicants for employment. This policy means that no one will be discriminated against because of race, religion, creed, color, national origin, nationality, citizenship, ancestry, sex, age, marital status, physical or mental disability, affectional or sexual orientation, gender identity, military or veteran status, genetic predisposing characteristics or any other basis prohibited by law.

Notice to Agency and Search Firm Representatives:

Yourgene Health and the Novacyt Group of companies is not accepting unsolicited resumes from agencies and/or search firms for this job posting. Resumes submitted to any Yourgene Health and Novacyt Group employee by a third-party agency and/or search firm without a valid written and signed search agreement, will become the sole property of Yourgene Health and the Novacyt Group of companies. No fee will be paid if a candidate is hired for this position because of an unsolicited agency or search firm referral. Thank you.