Scientist, Model Systems in London

Relation is a sector defining TechBio company developing transformational medicines, with technology at our core. Our ambition is to understand human biology in unprecedented ways, discovering therapies to treat some of life’s most devastating diseases. We leverage single-cell multi-omics from patient tissue, functional assays, and machine learning to drive disease understanding, from cause to cure.

We are scaling rapidly and building a team of exceptional individuals to push the boundaries of drug discovery. You will work in highly interdisciplinary teams where biology, computation, and engineering come together to solve complex problems that have not been solved before. Our state‑of‑the‑art wet and dry labs in the heart of London are designed to accelerate this integration and translate insight into impact. We are committed to building diverse and inclusive teams.

The opportunity

At Relation, we are building proprietary large‑scale datasets to advance the prediction of disease‑associated genes using cutting‑edge functional genomics and machine learning approaches. We are offering an exciting opportunity for a Scientist to help expand our capabilities to run large‑scale perturbation studies on mono‑ and co‑culture systems of fibrotic disease. In this role, you will be at the forefront of scientific discovery and make a meaningful impact in the field of biology, working at the intersection of science and technology within a rapidly growing TechBio company. The successful candidate will contribute significantly to capture the cellular response using a multimodal readout strategy that includes transcriptomics, proteomics and molecular signatures of functional phenotype. You will partner closely with colleagues across Discovery, have the opportunity to develop your skills to work independently and advance your knowledge‑base on assay development and optimisation.

Day to day, you will have the following key responsibilities:

• Maintain human primary cell lines, taking responsibility for sample tracking and quality control (QC).
• Perform experimental work developing cellular and biochemical assays.
• Benchmark and select candidate cell line, stimuli, timepoints, and assay dynamic range in monoculture and co‑culture models.
• Execute perturbation screens on cell models.
• Contribute to the development and implementation of new technologies, workflows, and operational infrastructure.
• Support the translation of assays into robust, high‑throughput, automated workflows.
• Carry out data analysis and relevant quality assurance protocols.
• Monitor day‑to‑day lab activities, maintain tissue culture reagent stock levels, ensure equipment is properly maintained, and adhere strictly to good lab practice standards.
• Communicate outcomes of your work to team members and external parties in written or verbal reports.
• Stay up to date of relevant scientific literature and incorporate new findings into research project planning and experiment design.
• Proactively identify potential project issues and communicate proposed solutions to the team.
• Communicate closely with cross‑functional colleagues across biology, machine learning and automation disciplines and assist with solving complex scientific challenges and accelerating programme delivery.

Professionally, you will have:

• PhD with 1‑2 years experience and demonstrable experience in assay development and/or target validation or Master’s degree in Biology with >5 years of additional experience in a relevant Biological Science.
• Strong background in working with primary and immortalised cell lines, preferably within large batch cultures and using bioreactors.
• Experience with running functional disease relevant endpoints with necessary reproducibility and sensitivity.
• Knowledge of CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing for modulating gene expression in 2D and 3D cell systems.
• Prior involvement in pathway‑modifying perturbation screens.
• Hands‑on experience with high‑content imaging.
• Extensive knowledge with data handling, curve‑fitting and statistical analysis.
• Experience in industry‑standard recording keeping.
• Excellent communication, influencing and interpersonal skills, with the ability to thrive in a collaborative, cross‑functional, matrixed environment.
• High motivation, scientific rigor and the ability to comfortably operate in a fast‑paced, evolving biotech setting.

Desirable Knowledge or Experience:

• Target modulation in fibrosis across various tissues is highly desirable.
• Working with “omics” experiments and data sets.
• Experience with automated laboratory systems.
• Prior experience working within biotech, pharmaceutical or CRO environments.

Personally, you:

• Are comfortable working in a matrixed environment, balancing multiple stakeholders and contributing effectively across teams.
• Take ownership of your work, proactively seek opportunities to contribute, and enable others to do their best work.
• Communicate openly and directly, give and receive feedback constructively, and handle challenging conversations with respect.
• Actively seek out diverse perspectives, build strong working relationships, and contribute to shared goals across teams.
• Embrace challenges with openness and resilience, set high standards for yourself, and strive to deliver meaningful outcomes.

Equal Opportunity Statement: Relation is a committed equal opportunities employer.