Scientific Technician

Who we are:

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 Scientific Technician to join us and significantly contribute to delivering the change we believe in.

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:

• Requires attention to detail and consistency in performing repetitive laboratory tasks.
• Carry out repetitive pipeline tasks for various plant species working under sterile conditions 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 tasks.
• Keep the Electronic Lab Notebook updated.
• Assist with the preparation of data sets and reports.
• Present & discuss progress or challenges in team meetings.

Research support:

• Assist with conducting research experiments pipeline optimisation, new methods etc.
• Follow experimental protocols and procedures under the guidance of senior colleagues.

Collaborative contribution:

• 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.

Benefits:

Group life cover x 3 of base salary.

Pension.

Private medical insurance.

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.

Training and development opportunities.

Flexible working opportunities.

Opportunity to work with cutting edge science.

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.