Senior Scientist - Spectroscopy

We are recruiting for an early-stage start-up based in Oxford who have recently secured their Seed funding. They are building a platform that identifies microbes and their antimicrobial profile directly from clinical samples, enabling transformational change in the fight against sepsis and antibiotic resistance. The success of this technology will ensure a revolution in the microbiology diagnostic space and set the standard for tomorrow.

They are seeking an experienced Raman Scientist/Microbiologist who will be hands-on, responsible for managing the planning, designing, execution and reporting of experimental work. You will lead efforts in applying Raman spectroscopy for microbiological diagnostics, working closely with a dedicated team to innovate and refine our approach to rapid pathogen identification and analysis.

About the role:

• Collaborate / lead spectroscopy & microbiology-focused projects involving clinical sample analysis and assay development.
• Develop and validate diagnostic assays aligned with company objectives and regulatory requirements.
• Ensure meticulous planning, execution, and documentation of scientific processes and experimentation.
• Implement and take responsibility for laboratory standard operating procedures
• Perform activities to highest health and safety standards, as well as taking ownership of COSHH and other risk assessments
• Work closely with colleagues in Engineering to ensure that processes are developed and performed to enable testing of prototype hardware designs
• Mentor and lead laboratory staff, fostering collaboration and effective communication across teams.

About you:

• A doctoral degree in microbiology with specialization in IR/FTIR/Raman spectroscopy or other spectroscopy method or a minimum of 3-4 years of experience applying said techniques in cell biology/microbiology
• Experienced in handling and growing bacterial cell culture
• Experienced with Class 2 labs
• Knowledge in clinical microbiology
• Expertise in employing spectroscopy for the analysis of biological samples
• Ideally with an understanding of various IR/FTIR/Raman techniques and the capability to optimize systems for enhanced performance with biological specimens.
• Experience within an In Vitro Diagnostic (IVD) development environment is desirable