Research Associate, Transformation Facility - Plant Biology Institute

Research Associate, Transformation Facility - Plant Biology Institute

EIT - Ellison Institute of Technology

Oxford, United Kingdom

Your Role:

At EIT we are seeking a highly motivated and skilled Research Associate in the Crop Transformation Pipeline team at the pioneering Plant Biology Institute. The Research Associate will support high-throughput transformation execution, ensuring consistent delivery of edited or transgenic plants across target crops. This role focuses on throughput, reproducibility, and industrial-grade delivery of high-quality transgenic and gene edited events.

Your Responsibilities:

The candidate will play a pivotal role in advancing the crop transformation pipeline. Successful candidates will focus on high throughput transformation in elite corn lines. The key responsibilities include:

• Conduct transformation, tissue culture, regeneration, and plant recovery workflows.
• Maintain culture health, media preparation, and sterile technique standards.
• Track experiments using LIMS and digital systems.
• Assist in optimisation trials and troubleshooting experiments.
• Support scaling initiatives and throughput acceleration.
• Maintain detailed lab documentation and inventory.
• Train and mentor Technicians.
• Standardise SOPs and ensure rigorous documentation following GLP & QMS.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to incorporate cutting edge applied technologies to develop commercial products.
• Present scientific work at seminars within the team and at external meetings, including contributing to laboratory-wide discussions on developments within the field.
• Assist in training and mentoring technicians in various transformation and tissue culture skill sets.
• Collaborate with experts at the forefront of research on AI, automation, and generative biology across the EIT ecosystem.
• Assist in the translation of scientific results into publications, commercial opportunities consistent with the EIT humane endeavors.
• Recognise the acting on opportunities for the creation of IP and cooperating in patent protection and in impact delivery.

The successful candidate will have skills in crop transformation or desire to become a highly skilled transformation expert in future. This role offers a unique opportunity to develop and grow in an enthusiastic and collaborative environment while solving some of the biggest global challenges.

The candidate will be expected to play an active role in translating research into commercially applicable tools to advance trait programs and delivering commercial solutions aligned with EIT’s mission of humane technological advancement. This is an exciting opportunity to develop as a leader in a dynamic, well-supported, and purpose-driven environment.

Requirements

Essential Skills, Qualifications & Experience:

• Master’s or Bachelor’s degree with substantial hands‑on expertise in plant tissue culture and transformation.
• Experience with structured experimental planning, tracking, monitoring and reporting.
• Proven troubleshooting and optimisation skills in tissue culture.
• Ability to build both internal and external relationships. Working collaboratively with others outside of their discipline.
• Clear and demonstrable problem-solving skills.
• Excellent problem-solving, communication, and collaboration skills.
• Excellent written communication and report writing skills.

Desirable Knowledge, Skills and Experience:

• Experience in multiple crop transformation.
• Experience with GLP & Quality management system.
• Experience in DOE, statistical analysis.