Location: Nottingham, UK, on-site at NTU laboratories
Type: Fixed contract
Early-career opportunity for Research scientist to work on an innovative R&D programme in collaboration with a Tier 1 pharma company. This programme involves microfluidic crystallisation experiments, experimentation with microfluidic mixing architectures, collection of flow, pressure and brightfield microscopy data, and rapid prototyping and 3D printing of experimental hardware.
The work sits at the intersection of biochemical science, crystallisation, microfluidics, bioscience and rapid prototyping, developing and testing experimental systems for pharma research in space. The ideal candidate will be finishing a PhD or postdoc, or recently completed one, and be looking to transition from academic research into a fast-moving, startup R&D environment.
This is a highly practical position in Nottingham. The successful candidate must be based locally and able to work at the MTIF lab (Medical Technologies Innovation Facility) on a daily basis.
Key responsibilities
The successful candidate will focus on:
- Planning, preparing and conducting crystallisation experiments in a lab environment.
- Developing, operating and troubleshooting microfluidic systems for chemical and pharmaceutical experiments.
- Supporting the design, fabrication and experimental evaluation of microfluidic chips, channels, mixers and fluid-handling systems.
- Preparing and handling chemical and biological samples, reagents and experimental materials.
- Basic experience in biofunctional testing, the biotech/biopharma industry, or cell culture would be an added asset.
Essential skills
- PhD, postdoctoral research experience, or near completion of a PhD in a relevant field such as:
- Chemistry / Chemical Science
- Chemical Engineering
- Materials Science / Material Bioscience
- Pharmaceutical Science
- or a closely related discipline
- Strong engineering fundamentals with the ability to apply first-principles analysis to multidisciplinary systems involving fluidics, thermal control, sensors, electronics and experimental hardware.
- Practical experience designing, building, testing and troubleshooting engineering prototypes, with a structured approach to verification, iteration and technical problem-solving.
- Ability to interpret technical requirements, perform engineering calculations, analyse experimental data and communicate results clearly through concise technical documentation.
- Basic coding experience, preferably Python, sufficient to review and understand existing code, write and modify simple scripts, perform engineering calculations/data analysis, and support testing or automation of experimental hardware.
- Ability to work across mechanical, electrical and software interfaces and collaborate effectively with engineers, scientists, suppliers and external technical partners.
- Must be based in the Nottingham area and able to attend the MTIF lab daily.
Desired skills
Experience with:
- microfluidics, fluid-handling systems, pumps, valves, pressure/flow sensing or lab-on-chip technologies.
- developing scientific or spaceflight hardware where mass, volume, power, data, thermal and reliability constraints influence the design.
- optical or imaging systems, including image acquisition or computational image/data processing.
- modelling or simulation tools such as CFD/OpenFOAM, or using code to support engineering modelling, optimisation and design decisions.
- experimental life-science, biotech or pharma hardware, particularly where material compatibility, sample handling and environmental control are key.
About us
Frontier Space is developing modular, autonomous microgravity research platforms designed to make space-based R&D more accessible to pharmaceutical, biotechnology and life-science organisations. Our platform provides a controlled, pressurised environment for experiments, integrating power, comms, mechanical interfaces, thermal management and experiment containment. SpaceLab first flew in Apr 25, and a second payload was launched in Jan 26.
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