R&D Laboratory Technician (chip chemistry and mechanical assembly)

at  Evonetix Ltd

THE COMPANY

Evonetix is a start-up biotech company based in a state-of-the-art facility in central Cambridge with the mission to revolutionise gene synthesis and accelerate the exciting field of synthetic biology.
The company’s technology is based on a novel silicon array, manufactured with semiconductor microfabrication techniques that enable independent control of numerous miniaturised reaction sites, allowing massive parallelism of the DNA synthesis process and assembly on-chip, in an innovative way.
The Evonetix community comprises a talented multidisciplinary team of professionals, including synthetic and surface chemists, physicists, biologists, bioinformaticians, and engineers.

THE POSITION

We are currently looking for an experienced laboratory technician to provide support to the R&D team in preparing, evaluating, and supplying functionalised chip assemblies for internal development of our technology.
You will be working as part of a closely-knit multidisciplinary team of surface chemists, physicists, and biologists, and so will possess a willingness to rapidly learn the new skills required to develop this radical innovative technology.
This position is ideal for someone who enjoys being hands-on in the lab, takes pride in following complex procedures and has a great attention to detail.

Key duties and responsibilities include:

• Write, follow and review standard operating procedures to handle our semiconductor chips (e.g. optical QC, coating, functionalisation, assembly)
• Write, follow and review batch record procedures to accurately and reliably make up solutions of buffers and other chemical reagents
• Accurately generate, document, and report high-quality analytical testing data in line with departmental procedures
• Accurately interpret testing data and effectively communicate results and conclusions to team members across different disciplines
• Support technical team with lab management tasks including equipment maintenance, consumable stock management, ordering, batch tracking
• Regular QC of reagents

REQUIREMENTS:

• Qualification in Chemistry, or a Science related field, ideally to degree level or with extensive practical experience in an academic or industrial chemistry laboratory.
• Good knowledge of laboratory health and safety requirements for the safe handling of chemical reagents and laboratory instrumentation.
• Excellent attention to detail and the demonstrated ability to follow scientific protocols effectively and consistently.
• Computer literate, proficient in Microsoft Office Suite and ability to learn how to use electronic notebooks, sample management systems, ordering systems, etc.
• Good interpersonal and communication skills to be able to work well in both self-managed and multidisciplinary team environment.
• Excellent organisational skills to effectively in a fast-paced environment.
• Good ability to record, , and present data with accuracy and clarity to team members.
• Ability to contribute to writing technical reports accurately detailing the background of the research project, problem statement, objectives, procedures, results, conclusions, and proposal of improvements.

The following technical skills would be advantageous, but not essential (training will be provided in areas where the candidate does not have experience)

• Working knowledge of chip surface coating and functionalisation.
• Experience in handling air/moisture-sensitive reagents.
• Working knowledge of analytical instrumentation such as HPLC/UPLC, LC-MS, IR, contact angle measurements, electrochemistry and fluorescent microscopy.
• Use of automated instruments (e.g. liquid handlers, microarray spotters).
• Conduct electrical measurements and accurate thermal/electrical metrology.

• Write, follow and review standard operating procedures to handle our semiconductor chips (e.g. optical QC, coating, functionalisation, assembly)
• Write, follow and review batch record procedures to accurately and reliably make up solutions of buffers and other chemical reagents
• Accurately generate, document, and report high-quality analytical testing data in line with departmental procedures
• Accurately interpret testing data and effectively communicate results and conclusions to team members across different disciplines
• Support technical team with lab management tasks including equipment maintenance, consumable stock management, ordering, batch tracking
• Regular QC of reagent