R&D Scientist – Assay Development; Immunology

Job description

Virax Biolabs UK Ltd is an innovative biotechnology company focused on immune-response detection technologies. The company is developing its flagship Virax Immune™ profiling platform, aimed at supporting the development of in vitro diagnostic (IVD) assays for chronic and post-infectious conditions, including Long Covid, Lyme disease and ME/CFS. In parallel, Virax Biolabs is expanding Immune Select, a portfolio of products and services supporting immunology and clinical research.

We are recruiting an R&D Scientist to join our Assay Development team, working hands-on with PBMCs and cell-based assays. The role covers two connected priorities: generating data and technical content that support our commercial activity, and contributing to R&D on our IVD assay.

Key Responsibilities

• Isolate, culture, and characterise PBMCs from donor and patient samples to a high, reproducible standard.
• Develop, run, and optimise cell-based immunoassays (including ELISpot/Fluoro Spot and flow cytometry), from protocol design through to optimising stimulation conditions and controls, to generate robust, reproducible data.
• Lead antigen-specific T cell stimulation experiments using peptide pools, including selecting or designing pools against target antigens, optimising stimulation conditions and kinetics, and interpreting functional readouts to characterise donor-specific immune responses.
• Translate experimental results into application notes, product comparisons, and technical content that our commercial team can use with customers, and support technical queries from prospective and existing customers.
• Contribute to development, optimisation, and validation of our IVD assay, including supporting validation activities such as precision and reproducibility.
• Maintain accurate, detailed lab records and contribute to SOPs for methods you develop or own.
• Keep up with relevant immunology literature and bring new methods or evidence to the team where useful.

What your background should look like

• PhD or MSc (with relevant lab experience) in Immunology, Cell Biology, or a related life science discipline.
• Hands-on experience with PBMC isolation and culture from whole blood.
• Practical experience with cell-based assays (e.g. functional immunoassays, flow cytometry, or similar).
• Strong written communication skills, able to translate lab data into clear technical documents.
• Familiarity with assay development in a regulated or quality-controlled environment.

What Virax Biolabs Offers

We offer a competitive compensation package, designed to reward performance while supporting long-term growth and flexibility.

• Competitive base salary, aligned with experience
• Performance-based bonus structure
• Employee stock option scheme
• 28 days' annual leave plus UK bank holidays
• Pension scheme with 6% employer and 2% employee contributions