At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead the development of high-throughput plant transformation pipelines for sustainable agriculture.
- Company: Join the innovative Plant Biology Institute at EIT, tackling global food challenges.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, enhanced holiday, private medical insurance, and professional development opportunities.
- Other info: Collaborative environment with state-of-the-art facilities and opportunities for career growth.
- Why this job: Make a real impact on global food production and climate health through cutting-edge research.
- Qualifications: Master's or PhD in Plant Biology with hands-on experience in crop transformation.
The predicted salary is between 36000 - 60000 £ per year.
Join us at the Ellison Institute of Technology (EIT), where we are on a mission to translate scientific discovery into real-world impact. We bring together visionary scientists, technologists, engineers, researchers, educators, and innovators to tackle humanity's greatest challenges in four transformative areas: Health, Medical Science & Generative Biology; Food Security & Sustainable Agriculture; Artificial Intelligence & Robotics.
Welcome to the Plant Biology Institute, headed by Professor Steve Kelly. The institute aims to develop impactful and commercially sustainable solutions for improving global food production and planetary health through pioneering plant science research. Our research focuses on enhancing our ability to feed the planet while simultaneously improving the climate and ecosystem outcomes of food production.
Areas of exploration include:
- Improved plant productivity, both indoors and outside
- Reduced reliance on inputs including water, fertilisers, pesticides, and herbicides
- Novel decarbonised plant-based production platforms for food and medicines
- Advanced technologies that speed up discovery and deployment in plants
Researchers will have access to state-of-the-art laboratory and plant growth facilities and have opportunities to collaborate with experts at the forefront of research on AI, automation, and generative biology across the EIT ecosystem. They will also work with global leaders in market development, commercialisation, and impact creation. The Plant Biology Institute has long-term substantial funding to support the unique scale and ambition of its vision.
Your Role: We are seeking a highly motivated and skilled Crop Transformation Pipeline Manager at the pioneering Plant Biology Institute. The candidate will build and scale a high-throughput Plant Transformation Pipeline focused on reliable, genotype-flexible, and industrially scalable delivery of transgenic and gene-edited plants. This role will establish and optimise transformation workflows, drive throughput improvements, and ensure reproducibility across multiple crop systems. The successful candidate will lead a technical team and develop robust, data-driven platforms that enable rapid construct-to-plant turnaround and downstream trait validation.
Your Responsibilities include:
- Establishing high-throughput transformation pipelines with defined KPIs (efficiency, regeneration rate, cycle time, no. of quality events)
- Designing, implementing, and optimising end-to-end plant transformation workflows (Agrobacterium-mediated, biolistic, CRISPR delivery, etc.)
- Leading and mentoring Research Associates and Senior Research Associates
- Standardising tissue culture, regeneration, and selection protocols across genotypes
- Integrating automation, digital tracking, and quality control systems in the pipeline
- Collaborating closely with other research groups to implement technologies to boost pipeline efficiency
- Driving continuous improvement, process optimisation, and scalability
- Contributing to strategic planning for the pipeline initiatives
- Collaborating with cross-functional teams to incorporate cutting-edge research techniques into experiments
- Presenting scientific work at seminars within the lab and at external meetings
- Assisting in mentoring graduate students and other members of the research group
- Collaborating with experts at the forefront of research on AI, automation, and generative biology
- Assisting in the translation of scientific results into commercial opportunities
- Recognising opportunities for the creation of IP and cooperating in patent protection and impact delivery
The successful candidate will have a strong background in large-scale crop transformation in an industrial or academic setting. This role offers a unique opportunity to run a high-throughput pipeline while collaborating across multidisciplinary teams to drive innovation from lab to global impact.
Requirements:
- Master's or PhD in Plant Biology, Plant Biotechnology, or related field
- Extensive hands-on experience developing high-throughput plant transformation and tissue-culture systems across multiple crop species
- Demonstrated experience improving transformation efficiency and regeneration outcomes in elite lines
- Experience leading technical teams or managing complex workflows
- Strong understanding of genome editing platforms (CRISPR/Cas systems)
- Experience in planning and management tools like spreadsheets, Microsoft Planner, LIMS, ELN, or Confluence
- Ability to build both internal and external relationships
- Clear and demonstrable problem-solving skills
- Excellent written communication and report writing skills
Desirable Knowledge, Skills and Experience:
- Experience working in industrial or high-throughput R&D settings
- Experience across multiple crop species
- Familiarity with phenotyping, digital data capture, or automation integration
Benefits include:
- Salary dependent on experience + travel allowance + bonus
- Enhanced holiday + options to buy additional days
- Pension
- Life Assurance
- Income Protection
- Private Medical Insurance
- Hospital Cash Plan
- Therapy Services
- Perk Box
- Electric Car Scheme
- Childcare benefit
What we offer includes newly constructed, state-of-the-art laboratories and growth facilities, a collaborative research environment, and opportunities for professional development.
Crop Transformation Pipeline Manager - Plant Biology Institute in Oxford employer: Ellison Institute of Technology Oxford
The Ellison Institute of Technology Oxford is an exceptional employer, offering a dynamic work environment where innovation thrives. With a strong focus on employee growth and collaboration, you will have the opportunity to work alongside leading experts in the field, contributing to groundbreaking diagnostic technologies. Our competitive salary and comprehensive benefits package, including pension and medical insurance, ensure that our team members are well-supported in their professional journey.
Contact Details:
Ellison Institute of Technology Oxford Recruitment Team
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