Scientific Associate 1 in Edinburgh

For 75 years, Charles River employees have worked together to assist in the discovery, development and safe manufacture of new drug therapies. When you join our family, you will have a significant impact on the health and well-being of people across the globe. Whether your background is in life sciences, finance, IT, sales or another area, your skills will play an important role in the work we perform. In return, we’ll help you build a career that you can feel passionate about.

We are currently seeking a Scientific Associate for our Biomarker Team located at our site at Clearwater House in Riccarton, Edinburgh. The larger department of Immunology, Bioanalysis and Biomarkers consists of a dynamic group of approximately 90 researchers that support our clients as they endeavour to bring novel treatments covering a wide range of therapeutic areas to patients. This multifunctional team ensures that clients are provided with accurate and reliable data in order to satisfy the regulatory expectations associated with bringing new treatments to the market. This is accomplished using a wide variety of scientific techniques across the fields of Immunochemistry, Immunology, Cell Based Assays and Molecular Biology.

As part of the Biomarker team, the successful applicant will be involved in the development, validation, and implementation of assays to support biomarker assessments including those considered Safety; Pharmacodynamic; Surrogate; Predictive/Prognostic; Monitoring and Susceptibility. This includes ligand binding assays such as ELISA and flow cytometry assays.

Key responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Use a range of analytical equipment (including Spectramax, Luminex, MSD and Cytek Aurora) for quantification of biomarkers in liquid matrices.
• Carry out experiments in support of method validation and subsequent routine samples generated within GLP and/or GCP regulatory studies.
• Follow written out instructions (SOPs, protocols, analytical procedures) and document details of steps carried out to ensure compliance through re-creation of events.
• Performing technical laboratory activities in support of client studies or procedures.
• Performing analysis of data for quality and completeness and determines if results are as expected.
• Recording data in compliance with company and regulatory policies and standards to meet quality and accuracy requirements.
• Participation in a closing and weekend rota system.

Profile and Requirements

We are looking for applicants with excellent organisational skills with an eye for detail and quality. In addition to the following skills and experience, the candidate should have a BSc or MSc degree in a relevant discipline with good understanding of Immunology & Cell biology or Drug Development. Specific criteria that you are required to meet include:

• Strong team player with good communication skills.
• Interest in working with sophisticated laboratory equipment.
• Understanding of core laboratory skills and techniques.
• Ability to perform well and thrive in a high-pressure environment.
• Basic understanding of GLP and GCP.

The starting salary for this role is £28789.76 per annum. Closing date for applications is 08 July 2026.

Following initial training and onboarding at our site based in Elphinstone, Tranent, the successful candidate will be based at our site in Clearwater House, Riccarton.

Due to high volume of applications we are receiving if you have not heard anything from Charles River Laboratories Edinburgh regarding the next steps of our recruitment process within 3 weeks of the closing date then please conclude you have been unsuccessful.

Job Description

Performs technical laboratory activities in support of client studies or procedures. Performs analysis of data for quality and completeness and determines if results are as expected. Records data in compliance with company and regulatory policies and standards to meet quality and accuracy requirements. Executes scientific testing strategies and studies. May participate in development as part of team. May lead assay research, assay validation or study conduct, or is involved in preparation of material (e.g. protein, nucleic acid, cells, etc.). Reviews and interprets study data, communicates results to clients and writes final reports. Ensures compliance with protocols and all applicable SOPs. Troubleshoots and resolves assay or technical issues in the laboratory when scientific expertise is needed. Contributes to specific dataset interpretation, or when appropriate answering questions from regulatory authorities.

Education

No degree required.

Physical Requirements

About Safety Assessment: Charles River is committed to helping our partners expedite their preclinical drug development with exceptional safety assessment services, state-of-the-art facilities and expert regulatory guidance. From individual specialty toxicology and IND enabling studies to tailored packages and total laboratory support, our deeply experienced team can design and execute programs that anticipate challenges and avoid roadblocks for a smooth, efficient journey to market.

Each year approximately 300 investigational new drug (IND) programs are conducted in our Safety Assessment facilities.

About Charles River

Charles River is an early-stage contract research organization (CRO). We have built upon our foundation of laboratory animal medicine and science to develop a diverse portfolio of discovery and safety assessment services, both Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) and non-GLP, to support clients from target identification through preclinical development. Charles River also provides a suite of products and services to support our clients’ clinical laboratory testing needs and manufacturing activities. Utilizing this broad portfolio of products and services enables our clients to create a more flexible drug development model, which reduces their costs, enhances their productivity and effectiveness to increase speed to market.

With over 20,000 employees within 110 facilities in over 20 countries around the globe, we are strategically positioned to coordinate worldwide resources and apply multidisciplinary perspectives in resolving our client’s unique challenges. Our client base includes global pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, government agencies and hospitals and academic institutions around the world.

At Charles River, we are passionate about our role in improving the quality of people’s lives. Our mission, our excellent science and our strong sense of purpose guide us in all that we do, and we approach each day with the knowledge that our work helps to improve the health and well-being of many across the globe. We have proudly worked on 80% of the drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the past five years.

At Charles River Laboratories, we recognize and recruit all talent. We are a company committed to fostering a sense of belonging and work daily in this direction.