Research Laboratory Technician (Bio-engineering)

Full-time: 35 hours per week

Open-ended: permanent

The Opportunity:

The School of Engineering is seeking to appoint a versatile and experienced Research Laboratory Technician to join its skilled Technical Services team of nearly 40 technical staff.  The successful candidate will primarily support the Institute of Bio-Engineering via the School’s bio-engineering lab suite.  The post-holder will contribute to the safe and efficient running of the labs, including through routine servicing and maintenance of equipment, health and safety implementation within the labs, and the transfer of knowledge and practical skills to undergraduate and postgraduate students as well as staff (including, technicians and modern apprentices).

The School’s bio-engineering labs host a number of researchers with a diverse and varied set of research interests. The lab suite is a biological containment level 2 facility and has separate labs for bacterial and mammalian cell culture as well as wet chemistry labs. In this workspace the post-holder will encounter biological, chemical and physical safety hazards. 

The successful candidate should therefore demonstrate excellent health and safety awareness and familiarity with health and safety documentation and systems (e.g., risk assessments, COSHH, biological RAs etc). 

It is essential that the successful applicant has experience of bacterial and mammalian cell culture, and should be eager to learn new techniques and equipment.  An interest in knowledge transfer and the Continuous Professional Development of themselves and others would also be beneficial.

With extensive work experience in a similar work environment (e.g., microbiology lab) and with relevant scientific qualifications (e.g., HNC/HND, BSc), the post holder will have proven technical abilities.

A varied skillset is desirable which might include: cell culture, microscopy and immunofluorescence imaging, cell proliferation assays, cell based assays, transfection, DNA sequencing, protein purification, RT-PCR, electrophoresis and western blotting and flow cytometry.

The role is customer-facing and the School is a diverse and international community of staff and students.  The post holder will therefore have excellent interpersonal and communication skills and a strong commitment to service delivery.

This role is full-time, open-ended and available immediately.

The School of Engineering is committed to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and we are particularly interested in hearing from candidates from under-represented groups. Please contact Sally Morgan (SoE Technical Services Manager; tsm@eng.ed.ac.uk) if you would like to discuss the role informally.

A full list of main responsibilities and the knowledge, skills and experience required for the role can be found in the full job description below.

Your skills and attributes for success:

• Passion for biology and bio-technology.
• Proven technical fault-finding and problem solving skills.
• Good understanding of health & safety regulations and procedures in a laboratory environment (including COSHH and biological containment).
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• Commitment to Continuous Professional Development (CPD).

Applicants should include a cover letter, explaining how they fulfil each of the criteria listed under ‘Knowledge, skills and experience’, and an up-to-date CV with their application.

The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in Scotland, with registration number SC005336. Is e buidheann carthannais a th’ ann an Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann, clàraichte an Alba, àireamh clàraidh SC005336.

To apply, please click on the ‘Apply’ button above