Senior Laboratory Research Scientist

Senior Laboratory Research Scientist (Senior Protein Biochemist) – Enchev Lab

Contract term: This is a full-time, fixed term (1 year) position on Crick terms and conditions of employment.

Reports to: Radoslav Enchev, Senior Group Leader

About us

The Francis Crick Institute is Europe’s largest biomedical research institute under one roof. Our world-class scientists and staff collaborate on vital research to help prevent, diagnose and treat illnesses such as cancer, heart disease, infectious diseases and neurodegenerative conditions.

The Crick is a place for collaboration, innovation and exploration across many disciplines. A space where the brightest minds can pursue big and bold ideas and discover answers to crucial scientific questions. We support them in a dynamic environment which fosters excellence with state-of-the-art infrastructure, cutting-edge facilities, and a creative and curious culture. We’ve removed traditional boundaries of departments, divisions and disciplines and instead have an open approach that supports every researcher.

This gives us the freedom to take risks and carry out high-quality, pioneering research. Creating a space for discovery without boundaries helps us to turn our science into benefits for human health and the economy.

About the Enchev Lab

The Enchev Lab at the Francis Crick Institute combines experimental structural biology with AI-driven molecular modelling to understand protein-protein interactions and how proteins change shape and function.

The team is building a scalable data engine that brings together high-throughput protein production, state-of-the‑art cryo-EM and generative AI to generate high-quality datasets on protein interactions and dynamics. The ambition is to help establish new foundational models for protein dynamics, with applications across fundamental biology and drug discovery.

About the role

We are looking for an experienced and hands‑on Senior Protein Biochemist to build and develop the protein production pipeline at the heart of this programme.

You’ll design constructs, express and purify proteins and complexes, develop scalable screening workflows and deliver cryo‑EM-ready samples, working closely with structural biologists, computational scientists and engineers.

A key focus will be scale and automation. You’ll develop workflows that can move from small‑scale screening to preparative production and help progressively transfer them onto automated liquid‑handling platforms.

This is an exciting opportunity to apply your protein biochemistry expertise at the intersection of structural biology, automation and AI-enabled drug discovery.

What you’ll be doing

You will be responsible for:

• Designing, cloning, expressing and purifying proteins and protein complexes.
• Developing scalable protein production and purification workflows.
• Delivering high-quality, cryo-EM-ready samples.
• Performing protein quality control, binding and activity assays.
• Designing workflows with automation, sample tracking and scalability in mind.
• Supporting the implementation of automated liquid-handling and purification technologies.
• Working collaboratively with structural biologists, computational scientists and engineers.
• Contributing to publications, presentations and patents.
• PhD in biochemistry, structural biology or a related discipline or equivalent experience.
• Strong hands‑on experience in protein expression and purification, including proteins or protein complexes.
• Experience producing proteins for structural studies, ideally including cryo-EM.
• Experience with protein quality control and in vitro binding or activity assays.
• Experience developing workflows that scale from screening to preparative production.
• Strong organisational, problem-solving and communication skills.
• A…