Research Associate, Research Scientist, Biotechnology

Are you someone who enjoys hands-on lab work and thrives in a fast-paced, collaborative research environment? We're looking for a motivated Research Associate to join our plant genotyping team, playing a key role in our molecular biology and genotyping pipelines. The ideal candidate is happy at the lab bench and equally comfortable with the computational analysis of genotyping data.

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

Our work is guided by three core values that define who we are and how we approach our mission:

• Curiosity: We fuel our desire to explore the unknown, pushing the boundaries of knowledge and sparking innovation. We ask questions, seek answers, and embrace lifelong learning.
• Community: We believe in the strength and support gained through collaboration and inclusion. As part of a global community, we nurture connections to drive meaningful impact for both people and planet.
• Courage: We face challenges head-on, take calculated risks, and stand up for our beliefs. Our bravery propels us to take action, even in the face of adversity.

If these values resonate with you, we invite you to join our team of passionate scientists and innovators working at the cutting edge of bioscience.

In this position, you will be working with a team of scientists and technicians, supporting genotyping workflows across wheat, soybean, and other crops. You will work with liquid handling systems, contribute to multi-disciplinary research projects, and contribute to the processes and standards that keep our science running smoothly.

• Contributing to the Plant Genotyping team's mission to provide timely and accurate genotyping of plant samples
• Preparing materials, solutions, and equipment for experiments, and performing routine tasks including sampling, plant maintenance, nucleic acid extractions and PCR
• Running established genotyping pipelines using automation, and running command-line based analysis of genotyping and sequencing data (e.g. amplicon sequencing)
• Designing and validating primers (and probes) for new and existing genotyping assays
• Using and helping to maintain command-line tools and analysis scripts, and contributing to pipeline improvements and automation
• Collecting, organising, and analysing genotyping data, and maintaining accurate records in our Electronic Lab Notebook (ELN) and databases for key stakeholders
• Following and contributing to SOPs to ensure consistent, high-quality operations — and optimizing existing approaches where improvements can be made
• Collaborating with multidisciplinary teams, assisting with troubleshooting, and contributing to presentations and team meetings

• A Bachelor's degree in a relevant biological science (Master's desirable), together with hands-on experience gained afterward — whether in academia or industry.
• Strong, hands-on wet-lab molecular biology…