Research Associate in Native Ambient Mass Spectrometry in Harwell

Rosalind Franklin Institute, United Kingdom

Application deadline: 09 Aug 2026

We seek to recruit a postdoctoral research associate to undertake research in native ambient mass spectrometry imaging. The ideal candidate will have experience in at least two of the following: native mass spectrometry, top-down mass spectrometry, mass spectrometry imaging, ion source development, instrument development.

As a Research Associate at the Franklin, you will bring scientific knowledge and skills to deliver a specific research project and/or you will bring independent, creative science, or specific skills to a team delivering a project or program. Through this work, you will build scientific independence, develop new science and leadership skills and establish a growing reputation externally.

In this role, you will be responsible for developing tools for native ambient mass spectrometry, including nano-DESI and related techniques, and integration of NAMS with other structural biology techniques. You will collaborate closely with internal and external stakeholders to develop innovative solutions for improved mass spectrometry imaging of intact proteins and their assemblies in tissue and advancing integrative spatial and structural biology. The project will be hosted in the new Rosalind Franklin Institute facilities at Harwell but will also involve working with investigators across the Franklin, collaborator laboratories and with member institutes.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop new tools for native ambient mass spectrometry imaging.
• Design, model and construct new instrumentation to enable chemical imaging.
• Collaborate with biological and MS experts at the Franklin to optimise MSI conditions and methods for specific collaborations and challenges.
• Adapt to working across multi-modal instrumentation and collating multiomic and imaging data from diverse sources and scales.
• Investigate the use of cutting edge instrumentation to explore key scientific challenges such as sensitivity and spatial resolution.
• Plan and conduct experiments, analyse and interpret results and supervised delivery of outputs (e.g. research report, patent application) in a scientific or technology area of interest.
• Work within a project team, contributing to wider projects around Franklin's key Challenges.
• Lead major contributions to outputs from research including papers, patents and both internal and external presentations.
• Support and develop others including day-to-day supervision of students or visitors in areas related to own research.
• Have supervised, staged progression to first stages of scientific independence with opportunities to further develop science and skills/experience.
• Enhance your research through collaboration with other researchers and make active contributions to exchanging of ideas through your own network.
• Be able to understand, interpret, create and communicate appropriately within a research context.
• Develop search and discovery skills and techniques.
• Be supervised by a Scientist/Senior Scientist in delivery of research outputs, either in the context of a project or Challenge or as an early career development fellow.

This job description sets out the skills and experience we believe are needed to be able to do this job but, research also tells us women are much more likely than men to take this list of requirements as absolute and self-select out of the process. If you think you can deliver this role then we want to hear from you, regardless of the boxes you did not tick.

Whilst the role requires candidates to hold a PhD/DPhil (or equivalent), we may consider candidates who have submitted their PhD/DPhil thesis, in which case the initial appointment will be made at £38,500 per annum (to be increased on completion of the PhD/DPhil qualification).

At the Rosalind Franklin Institute we also welcome applications from all around the world!

Closing date:

The closing date for applications is 23:59 on Sunday 9th August 2026.

Interviews will be held w/c 17th August 2026.