Scientific Technician in Abingdon

At Wild Bio we are radically enhancing crops to feed the world sustainably and promote a wilder planet. Wild plants have had half a billion years to evolve natural solutions for thriving in almost every environment on Earth. Our proprietary genetics platform harnesses these wild innovations to enhance the world's most important crops. Wild-enhanced crops would simultaneously boost farm yields and promote gigaton-scale carbon mitigation strategies. If you're looking for a start-up that has enormous potential for impact on growers, consumers, and the planet, please read on.

Wild Bio is a well-funded, fast-paced Oxford University spin-out working from state-of-the-art labs and offices at Milton Park, Oxfordshire. We are about to enter an exciting phase of growth and are looking for a driven and curious scientist to join us and significantly contribute to delivering the change we believe in.

Our Values

Our work is guided by three core values that define who we are and how we approach our mission:

• Curiosity: We fuel our desire to explore the unknown, pushing the boundaries of knowledge and sparking innovation. We ask questions, seek answers, and embrace lifelong learning.
• Community: We believe in the strength and support gained through collaboration and inclusion. As part of a global community, we nurture connections to drive meaningful impact for both people and planet.
• Courage: We face challenges head-on, take calculated risks, and stand up for our beliefs. Our bravery propels us to take action, even in the face of adversity.

If these values resonate with you, we invite you to join our team of passionate scientists and innovators working at the cutting edge of bioscience.

Role Summary

We are looking for a motivated and skilled technician who will work with a team of scientists and technicians to support our tissue culture pipelines and related lab tasks. The ideal candidate will have experience in plant tissue culture techniques

Detailed Responsibilities

Plant tissue culture media preparation:

• Prepare tissue culture media and stock solutions for plant cell culture
• Support the monitoring of lab media stocks and consumables to ensure smooth running of the lab
• Follow SOPs and lab schedule to carry out tasks and maintain consistency and quality throughout operations

Plant tissue culture pipeline:

• Carry out repetitive pipeline tasks for various plant species working under sterile conditions including plant transformation in a laminar flow hood following SOPs
• Maintain and subculture experiments following experimental designs
• Observe the pipeline tasks and ongoing experiments critically and communicate to the team
• Collaborate with plant care team to ensure pipeline plants acclimatise in soil

Documentation and reporting:

• Monitor and update the various databases as you complete your tasks
• Keep the Electronic Lab Notebook updated
• Assist with the preparation of data sets and reports
• Present & discuss progress or challenges in team meetings
• Assist with conducting research experiments pipeline optimisation, new methods etc
• Follow experimental protocols and procedures under the guidance of senior colleagues
• Work closely with multidisciplinary teams, including scientists, and technicians, to support ongoing research projects
• Collaborate on problem solving and troubleshooting activities
• Support the writing and review of SOPs and Guidance Documents
• Provide backup support when other team members are absent in collaboration with your line manager to ensure smooth flow of lab operations
• Coordinate with other groups to ensure the successful handover to the next stage in a pipeline

Knowledge and Skills

• Bachelor's degree in science, or evidence of equivalent work experience is desirable but not required to apply
• Have a keen attention to detail and focus while conducting important but repetitive tasks
• Be a team player in a multi-disciplinary environment, building relationships, and gaining trust from others through honesty, compassion, and authenticity
• Have a curious and courageous mindset, enjoy stepping up to try new things in a changing environment, and taking initiative where there is often ambiguity
• Approach solving difficult and complex problems head on, working from first principles and collaborating as a team to re-think problems and learn from both successes and failures
• Want to seek out new opportunities to develop, share learnings with others, and strive to support others in their own development and growth
• Challenge established approaches with the aim of improving the system
• Take initiative where needed with tasks that have not been assigned
• Group life cover x 4 of base salary
• Critical illness cover x 4 of base salary
• Pension scheme with a 5% Company contribution
• Private medical insurance including dental and optical
• Enhanced maternity and paternity leave
• Regular company socials
• Complimentary refreshments throughout the week
• Team meals, including breakfast on a Monday and lunch each Friday, creating opportunities for informal networking and team bonding
• Flexible working opportunities

Location

We're headquartered in Milton Park, a business and technology park in Oxfordshire. We are a small, fast-paced team working on cutting-edge science, and we believe the relationships forged and the work we do in-person will be crucial for our success. For this reason, we are asking that applicants be able to work on-site.

The successful candidate will be required to provide proof of eligibility to work in the UK.