Laboratory Technician (Biology)

Location: Cambridge

Contract: Full-time and permanent

Sector: Biotechnology

Salary: £22,000 - £26,000

Work Hours: 40 hrs a week, Monday to Friday (09:00 - 17:30)

Our client is an innovative biotechnology company based outside of the centre of Cambridge. They have built a platform to synthesise DNA and RNA which provides exciting possibilities for ensuring cheaper, faster and more accurate DNA / gene constructs than traditional plasmid-based methods. They work with external partners to develop gene therapy projects and have some internal projects too. Additionally they have AAV and Lipid-nanoparticle technology platforms in-house. In a key phase of their growth, our client is looking to bring a Technician to their process development team on a full-time and permanent basis.

The Opportunity

This is a junior opportunity suitable for a BSc holder in a biological or biochemical discipline, or someone with existing laboratory experience. As a Laboratory Technician, you will be responsible for:

• Supporting the process development team with synthetic DNA projects.
• Safe preparation and storage of buffers and chemical solutions.
• Set up and use protein purification systems (AKTA and TFF - Tangential Flow Filtration) and analytical equipment such as HPLC.
• Performing basic laboratory protocols including agarose gel electrophoresis and pipetting.
• Maintain the laboratory space through cleaning and inventory management.
• Record scientific data in accordance with company policy.
• Attending company / team meetings.
• Additional responsibilities not included in this list.

Skills and Experience Needed

The ideal candidate will have the following:

• BSc in Biology / Biochemistry OR a laboratory apprenticeship OR 1-2 years of prior laboratory experience (essential, equivalent experience okay)
• Prior experience in 2 or more of the following: micropipetting (micro litre to hundred millilitre scale) and agarose gel electrophoresis, SDS-PAGE, nucleic acid quantification (Qubit / Nanodrop), western blotting, Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) (essential)
• Excellent attention to detail. (essential)
• Ability to work effectively in a team and individually (essential)
• Experience in using AKTA purification systems, or TFF (desired)
• Experience working in an industrial biological laboratory (desired)

The Package

As an up-and-coming Cambridge Biotech, our client is able to offer a competitive salary, progression options and benefits package including private pension.