Laboratory Technician (Materials Science) in Oxford

Location: Oxford area, UK (Milton Park). This is a hands-on, on-site lab role.

Reports to: CTO

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About LAYRR

LAYRR is a deep-tech startup with a proprietary Physical Vapour Deposition (PVD)-on-Powder Platform that transforms standard, commodity powders into high-performance functional materials with broad application potential across thermal materials, additive manufacturing and super alloys, magnets and batteries. By engineering the surface of materials at an atomic level, we maximise the performance of next-generation hardware.

The Role: Your Mission

You will keep our lab running and our experiments trustworthy. You will coat powders on our R&D system, carry out straightforward analysis of all kinds, and support the running and quality control of our larger STORM system. This is a hands-on execution role, turning our strategic direction into clean, well-documented, repeatable work at the bench.

You are methodical, take pride in getting things right and recording them properly, and comfortable being the person who keeps the lab safe and ready. You enjoy the lab environment and are equally happy running routine work and learning new kit.

What You Will Own:

• Coating and lab work: Run coating experiments on the R&D system to a defined plan, prepare samples, and carry out straightforward analysis and characterisation.
• Getting kit up and running: When a measurement needs a technique we don't run in-house, go to an external characterisation lab, get trained on the equipment, and run the experiments yourself. This could be thermal behaviour or any number of things, so confidence to learn new kit matters.
• STORM support: Support the running and quality control of our larger STORM system.
• Records and SOPs: Log every parameter and result cleanly, follow and help refine standard operating procedures, and keep the data trustworthy for the science team.
• Lab readiness and safety: Manage consumables, gas and chemical inventory to avoid downtime, keep equipment maintained and calibrated with the engineering team, and uphold lab safety, including the careful handling of fine and reactive powders.

Core Competencies & Proven Capabilities

• Hands-on lab experience: At least two to three years of hands-on, practical work in a materials science, physics or metallurgy laboratory.
• Record-keeping and data discipline: Meticulous, structured logging of experiments and results.
• Learning new equipment: The confidence to be trained on an unfamiliar instrument and run experiments on it independently.
• Reliability and self-management: You own the lab's readiness and get on with the work rather than waiting to be prompted.
• Safety mindset: Genuine good lab practice and a safety-first attitude, especially around fine, reactive or hazardous powders.
• Clear communication: You flag progress, results and problems clearly and early.

Valuable Experience (Nice to Have, Not Required)

• Hands-on experience with high-vacuum equipment.
• Experience handling and characterising fine powders.
• Writing and maintaining SOPs in a lab setting.

Why Join LAYRR?

Engineering value at the atomic scale.

Our North Star is infinite material performance from a finite natural resource. We are reimagining our relationship with raw materials to leave a better planet for future generations. By using our proprietary STORM PVD platform to functionalise powders at the nanoscale, we solve hard physical problems that unlock real commercial impact.

How We Work: A Culture Built for Breakthroughs

We are building a culture designed for rapid execution and deep scientific rigour. If you thrive in high-autonomy environments where data beats hierarchy and outcomes beat presenteeism, you will fit right in.

• Radical candour (clarity over comfort): We believe it is kinder to be clear than comfortable. We share failed experiments and ugly data straight away, treating them as vital data points rather than failures. We challenge ideas openly and attack assumptions early.
• Ruthless focus (outcomes over activity): We don't measure performance by hours at a desk or in the lab. We measure it by impact on our primary bottlenecks. We cut noise and protect deep-work time so you can solve hard problems without constant distraction.
• Extreme ownership (no "them", only "us"): In a fast-moving startup there is no one else to pass the torch to. You own your tasks, your data and your decisions. When something fails we don't look for excuses, we state what went wrong, fix the underlying system and move forward.