Digital R&D Scientist Internship

Digital R&D Scientist Internship Digital R&D, High-Throughput Experimentation & AI | Metalchemy

Location: Lambeth, South West London (laboratory-based / in-person)

Duration: Full-time fixed-term internship (13 July - 13 November 2026)

Hours: Monday-Friday, 9:00am-6:00pm (42.5 hours/week)

Role Split: Approximately 60% computational / 40% laboratory-based

Compensation: £2,000-£3,000 gross per month, depending on experience and technical capability

Eligibility: Exceptional MEng, MSc, PhD candidates and recent PhD graduates

Visa Sponsorship: Not available for this position

Metalchemy is an award-winning UK deep-tech company developing and commercialising patented sustainable coatings, antimicrobial technologies and advanced materials for food packaging and other high-impact applications.

Our antimicrobial and functional materials help extend the shelf life of perishable food, reducing food waste and packaging material use across supply chains. We work at the intersection of research, manufacturing, commercialisation and innovation, collaborating with customers, manufacturers, universities and industry partners to bring impactful technologies to market.

We are building a next-generation Digital R&D Platform that combines Design of Experiments (DoE), laboratory automation, high-throughput experimentation (HTE) and AI-enabled workflows to accelerate innovation and improve how research translates into commercial impact.

We are looking for an ambitious, highly computational scientist or engineer to help accelerate the next generation of R&D at Metalchemy.

Working directly with company leadership and scientists, you will help design and implement systems that improve how experiments are planned, executed, analysed and translated into decisions.

This role is ideal for someone who enjoys combining science, software, automation and data to solve real-world R&D challenges. You will work closely with the Head of R&D, with regular check-ins to review progress and unblock technical challenges.

You will help build the foundations of Metalchemy's Digital R&D Platform, creating practical tools, workflows and capabilities that increase scientific productivity, improve knowledge retention and accelerate product development across coatings, advanced materials and microbiology programmes.

This is a highly visible and strategic project with significant ownership and direct impact on how innovation is conducted across the company.

Successful completion of key project objectives may lead to a permanent Digital R&D Scientist, Research Automation Scientist or related role within Metalchemy.

Develop tools, workflows and automation systems that reduce repetitive manual work, improve knowledge retention and enable scientists to spend more time generating insights, solving technical challenges and advancing product development.

Support automation and digitalisation of selected QC workflows, including analytical data processing, reporting and traceability.

Implement Design of Experiments (DoE), Origin Pro workflows, Opentrons-enabled laboratory automation and high-throughput experimentation approaches that accelerate development cycles, improve experimental efficiency and maximise learning from every experiment.

Develop the data infrastructure, workflow integrations and decision-support tools required to support predictive modelling, machine learning and future AI-assisted research, while improving the accessibility, quality and usability of scientific data across Metalchemy.

Ensure new tools, workflows and automation systems are successfully implemented, documented and adopted across the organisation, creating lasting capability beyond the duration of the internship.

Primary Focus: Objectives 1 and 2

Secondary Focus: Objectives 3 and 4, progressed as time and project momentum allow

• Evaluate existing R&D workflows and data flows to identify bottlenecks limiting productivity and development speed
• Support implementation…