Senior Scientist; Sample Management

£41,700-£51,300 (dependent on experience) Plus Benefits

Senior Scientist – Sample Management

Reports to: Principal Scientist, Mechanistic Pharmacology

Directorate: Research and Innovation

Contract: Permanent

Hours: Full time, 35 hours per week (flexible working requests considered if they meet business needs)

Location: Babraham Research Campus, Cambridge – Lab based with low‑flex (minimum of 3 days per week on site)

Closing date: Tuesday 21st July 23:55pm

Visa sponsorship: Cancer Research UK may consider visa sponsorship for this vacancy. If you require sponsorship, please mark this clearly on your application.

The Senior Scientist – Sample Management will manage the delivery of high‑quality sample management to support discovery research activities. Responsibilities include the effective storage, handling, tracking, and dispensing of compounds and biological samples, with a focus on small molecules and antibodies. The role drives best practice, continuous improvement, and the adoption of new technologies and automation across multiple sites.

• Drive continuous improvement of sample management practices, ensuring state‑of‑the‑art standards in compound and biological handling and dispensing.
• Prioritise sample requests in line with project priorities and assign work to team members.
• Receive and solubilise new compounds; assess their purity by LC‑MS.
• Prepare and supply assay‑ready plates with ECHO instrumentation to support structure‑activity studies and high‑throughput screening across multiple sites.
• Prepare and supply bespoke compound requests to support non‑routine activities across active projects.
• Troubleshoot issues and respond to queries in a timely manner.
• Maintain the Mosaic sample management system, driving continuous improvement.
• Liaise with CROs to manage off‑site storage of compound libraries.
• Collaborate within the Molecular Sciences team, internal multi‑disciplinary research teams, and with external partners.

• HNC, HND or degree in chemistry, biochemistry, life sciences; relevant experience may substitute for education.
• Significant experience in a drug discovery environment managing and dispensing small molecules and biotherapeutics.
• Detailed understanding of storage processes for compounds and biologicals (storage issues, freeze‑thaw cycles, degradation, solvent usage).
• Experience in liquid handling and automated dispensing, such as ECHO and Access platforms.
• Experience with LIMS, databases and screening data management software, such as Mosaic and Dotmatics.
• Collaborative mindset, excellent organisational skills, attention to detail, and flexibility.

A generous benefits package, wide range of career and personal development opportunities, and high‑quality tools are provided to support wellbeing and a healthy work‑life balance.