Senior Laboratory Automation Specialist

Location: Newcastle upon Tyne

We are seeking a highly experienced Senior Laboratory Automation Specialist to join the Laboratory Automation Team within the Sequencing Operations Research and Development group. This role will lead and deliver complex automation projects while managing a subgroup of Laboratory Automation Specialists, providing technical guidance, mentoring, and supporting their professional development.
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* About the role:

**** As a Senior Laboratory Automation Specialist, you will play a leading role in defining and driving the vision for laboratory automation across Scientific Operations (Sci Ops) and the wider institute. You will manage a group of highly skilled Automation Specialists, guiding their work to deliver this strategic vision.

This role offers the opportunity to shape the future of automation at the Sanger Institute, delivering innovative solutions that enhance efficiency and support cutting-edge science.

You will develop a thorough understanding of work being performed across Sanger to identify areas where automation can add value. You will take full ownership of designing and implementing optimal solutions, leading project delivery, and ensuring the successful deployment of novel automated workflows and technologies.

You will collaborate closely with key stakeholders across the Institute, including senior management, to ensure the seamless end-to-end integration of new processes. You will build strong relationships across Sci Ops and faculty programs to foster innovation and grow our science. Additionally, you will engage with external collaborators to evaluate and integrate new technologies, ensuring the Institute remains at the forefront of laboratory automation.
** Essential

Skills:

*** BSc. (or equivalent) in a biological science or equivalent experience.
* Demonstrable leadership skills and strong people management skills across a diverse range of people.
* Proven track record in managing, mentoring, and developing others to support independent working and ownership.
* Extensive experience in laboratory automation and liquid handling.
* Experience in designing and writing complex methods on automated liquid handling platforms (e.g., Hamilton, Agilent Bravo, Tecan, Beckman, etc.).
* Experience of evaluating liquid handling technologies and critically assessing performance against strategic requirements.
* Ability to promote ideas and project success through oral and/or written presentations.
* Experience in writing reports on project status and critically evaluating KPIs.
* Adaptive and entrepreneurial thinking, with a track record in initiating concepts and driving them through to completion.
* Track record of delivering projects to agreed schedules, budgets, and quality standards.
* Effective communicator and influencer, with the ability to develop and maintain relationships inside and outside their area of expertise.
* Experience in integrating automation into Laboratory Informatics Systems (LIMS).
* Background in automating Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) and/or cell-based assays.
* Strong understanding of NGS technologies and/or cell and molecular biology techniques.
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* About you:

**** You will be an experienced manager of people and an entrepreneurial thinker with a track record in initiating concepts and project managing them through to completion, within agreed budget constraints, timescales and quality standards. You will have extensive knowledge and experience of method writing on large liquid handling platforms (e.g. Hamilton, Agilent Bravo, Tecan, Beckman, etc.) within the context of high-throughput pipeline development.

You will be agile in response to changing requirements with a focus on efficiency and continuous process improvement.

You will be able to critically evaluate liquid handling platforms and performance data to identify the optimal technology. You will have the ability to work collaboratively, communicate effectively and influence a range of internal stakeholders at all levels. You will also be comfortable working independently and prioritising your workload, as well as managing and balancing the workloads of others to ensure team objectives are met effectively and efficiently.

You will have strategic awareness and the ability to support large-scale projects in a complex, ever-changing environment. The two divisions central to this role are Cellular Operations (Cell Ops) and Sequencing Operations (Seq Ops). Cell Ops specialises in large-scale cell biology research and is continually evolving to meet the changing needs of the Institute. To date, the focus has been scaling cell culture, cell line engineering, cell model derivation and differentiation, whole-genome CRISPR screening, and flow cytometry.

Seq Ops is responsible for generating high-quality genomic data and resources by transforming ambitious experimental concepts into robust pipelines that support the Institute’s scientific objectives. From cancer research and single-cell analysis to studies of parasitic organisms and endangered…