Biochemical Scientist - Wet Lab in Manchester

LanthaGen Bio is a biotech startup building biotechnologies for selective metal binding and recovery from various waste streams, such as electronic waste. We are looking for a Biochemical Scientist to support and advance our protein engineering pipeline. This is a fully lab based experimental role working closely with the CTO, with a strong emphasis on experimental delivery, assay optimisation, and coordinating lab work that directly informs our computational pipeline.

Salary: £38,000 per annum (Year 1); within a salary band of £38,000-£42,000, with progression subject to annual SPRIN-D project continuation and performance review.

Location: Hybrid/Remote; Lab located in CityLabs 4.0, Manchester, M13 0HX. Role is fully lab based.

Working Hours: Full time: Monday-Thursday; This role is a fixed four-day working week, with regular daily hours (e.g. 30-32 hours per week). It is not a compressed-hours role and is designed to support accessible working patterns, increase productivity, and promote work life balance.

Annual Leave: You are entitled to 20 working days paid annual leave per leave year, based on a four-day working week (equivalent to five weeks flexible leave) + paid leave for UK bank holidays on your normal working days/paid leave during the Company’s Christmas closure.

Benefits:

• 3 months full pay maternity/paternity/shared parental leave.
• Fully paid volunteer day with local charity.
• Paid leave on your birthday.
• Free gym at Manchester Science Park + secure bike storage at CityLabs 4.0.
• £500 learning and development budget for independent online courses, conference attendance, etc.

Interview Process:

• Stage 1: Teams call to assess CV and skill fit for the role
• Stage 2: Experimental planning task with 72-hour completion window, present to leadership team on site.

What you will do:

• Carry out protein based biochemical and biophysical assays, including assay setup, optimisation, data collection and analysis.
• Perform protein expression, grow-ups, and purification for downstream testing.
• Contribute to the design and improvement of assays for novel metal detection, including for use by our collaborators.
• Prepare buffers, reagents, and media; handle concentrated acids and other hazardous chemicals and materials such as e-waste safely.
• Assist with laboratory setup, including equipment installation, weekly stock checks and consumables ordering and management.
• Maintain clear experimental records and contribute to reproducibility and data quality standards.
• Support experimental planning, scheduling, and coordination to maximise productivity within a four-day workweek.
• Contribute to troubleshooting, SOP’s, and continuous improvement of all lab processes.
• Work collaboratively with computational chemist to design proteins for lab testing.

Technical Skills Required:

• Confidence working independently in a wet lab environment.
• Strong practical experience with designing and implementing protein biochemical assays.
• Experience with biophysical assays relevant to metal-protein interactions, such as fluorescence binding assays or UV–Vis spectroscopy.
• Practical experience preparing samples for ICP-MS and XRF analysis, including digestion, dilution, and handling of metal containing materials.
• Experience with protein expression, purification in a variety of microbial strains.
• Safe handling of acids, buffers, and standard biochemical reagents.
• Experience accurately preparing and handling complex metal mixtures for experimental use.
• Good experimental planning, documentation and time management skills.

Desired but not mandatory:

• Experience analysing or interpreting ICP-MS data for metal quantification or selectivity studies (required by end of year 1).
• Use of molecular techniques, including site-directed mutagenesis, primer design, and working with variant or expression libraries (e.g. RBS libraries).
• Experience using basic computational or digital tools to support experimental work (e.g. SnapGene, simple protein modelling or structure visualisation tools).
• Experience implementing automated data analysis (e.g. assay data processing, instrument output handling, scripting to support efficiency).
• Experience in XRD, SEM, DSC for bulk material analysis.
• Experience in metalloprotein biochemistry, including f-block metals.
• Experience working in a startup environment.

What success looks like (first 3-6 months on the job):

• Optimised enzyme and protein assays established for testing complex metal mixtures either in house or with collaborators, with clear performance metrics from assays (e.g. sensitivity, selectivity, reproducibility) feeding directly into experimental decision-making.
• End-to-end electronic waste to ICP-MS analysis (and XRF where relevant) in place, from sample preparation through to interpreted data, enabling confident comparison of metal binding and selectivity across experiments.

Experience needed:

• PhD in Biochemistry or a related field, with preferred experience in metalloprotein biochemistry.
• MSc in Biochemistry with relevant industry experience (e.g. metalloprotein scientist, assay development scientist).

Additional: This role is funded as part of the SPRIN-D Tech Metal Challenge for 12 months initially, with continuation based on satisfactory performance and progression to year 2 of the challenge.

Equalities and Values Statement: LanthaGen Bio is committed to an inclusive, respectful, and safe workplace. We do not tolerate discrimination, harassment, or exclusion on the basis of race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, disability, religion or belief, age, or any other characteristic protected under UK law. We respect that individuals may hold a wide range of personal, cultural, religious, or philosophical beliefs. However, all employees are expected to act professionally and respectfully at work. Behaviour that creates a hostile, intimidating, or exclusionary environment is not acceptable, regardless of personal belief or intent. These expectations apply to all work-related interactions, including communications, meetings, and events. LanthaGen Bio complies fully with the Equality Act 2010 and relevant UK employment law.