Senior Scientist - Molecular Soil Health

Join us as a Senior Scientist and make an invaluable contribution to our Food Safety & Biosecurity! As a Senior Scientist you will play a key role in the development and delivery of science in the Detection and Surveillance Technologies (DST) team. You will be responsible for delivering key milestones within projects and maintaining connection and coordination between work within the DST and other delivery teams responsible for soils and molecular work. You will work with senior scientists and principal scientists to develop and deliver in this area of science. This is primarily an R&D focused role requiring molecular soil expertise.

What you’ll be doing:

• Leading and supporting R&D projects including planning, conducting experiments, analysing data and project reporting.
• Developing new molecular methods and improving how we deliver soil health science.
• Writing bids, project reports and scientific papers.
• Coordinating and providing molecular diagnostic testing for soil health projects.
• Liaising with Team Managers to secure resources and ensure effective project delivery.
• Overseeing project progress to ensure timely reporting and adherence to quality standards.
• Promoting, ensuring and training others in quality standards (ISO 17025 and ISO 9001).
• Preparing and delivering presentations, talks and training to colleagues, visitors, clients and conference audiences.
• Communicating directly with clients and commercial partners to deliver project outcomes.

What we’re looking for:

• A PhD or Master’s degree with strong experience in molecular soil science or a related field.
• Practical experience in molecular techniques (e.g. DNA extraction, RT‑PCR, assay development).
• Broad knowledge of soils and agriculture, including soil management, ecology and robust sampling design.
• Excellent understanding of quality and data integrity (experience with R desirable but not essential).
• Experience applying qualitative and quantitative methods in environmental sciences, particularly natural capital analysis.
• Strong project management capabilities, including coordination, resource planning and progress monitoring.
• Ability to train, mentor and support others in soil diagnostics and laboratory practices.
• Excellent communication skills, with confidence in delivering technical content to varied audiences.
• Commitment to high standards of health, safety and laboratory quality practice.

What’s in it for you?

• 25 days’ holiday (rising to 29) with the opportunity to buy & sell extra leave.
• Flexible working hours, on‑site gym, restaurant, and free parking.
• The opportunity to take a paid day out of the office, volunteering for our charity partners or a cause of your choice.
• Company‑matched pension, life assurance, a cycle2work scheme, 15 weeks’ fully paid maternity, adoption and shared parental leave, paternity pay of two weeks and many more.
• Voluntary benefits designed to suit your lifestyle – from discounts on retail and socialising, to health & wellbeing, travel and technology.
• Fera operates a LTIP (Long Term Incentive Plan) under which all employees are awarded points towards shares in the Employee Benefits Trust on an annual basis.
• The Employee Benefits Trust holds shares on behalf of our employees; at the point of an equity event the shares will realise a cash value.

What we hope you’ll do next:

Choose ‘Apply now’ to fill out our short application, so that we can find out more about you. If you have any questions you’d like to ask before applying, you can contact recruitment@fera.co.uk. We’re an equal opportunity employer, which means we recruit and develop people based on their merit and passion. We’re committed to providing an inclusive, barrier‑free recruitment process and working environment for everyone. If you need the job description or application form in an alternative format or if you’d like to discuss other changes or support you might need going forward, please email at recruitment@fera.co.uk and we’ll get back to you.