Head of Metabolic Analysis and Modelling - Plant Biology Institute

About EIT

At the Ellison Institute of Technology (EIT), we're on a mission to translate scientific discovery into real world impact. We bring together visionary scientists, technologists, engineers, researchers, educators and innovators to tackle humanity's greatest challenges across four transformative areas:

• Health, Medical Science & Generative Biology
• Food Security & Sustainable Agriculture
• Climate Change & Managing CO₂
• Artificial Intelligence & Robotics

The Plant Biology Institute, headed by Professor Steve Kelly, is a key part of the Ellison Institute of Technology (EIT) Oxford. The institute aims to develop impactful and commercially sustainable solutions for improving global food production and planetary health through pioneering plant science research.

The Plant Biology Institute will unite world‑class researchers focused on expanding the frontiers of plant science. Our research is geared toward enhancing our ability to feed the planet while simultaneously improving climate and ecosystem outcomes of food production. By embedding cutting‑edge plant science research within an organization focused on solving global challenges at scale, we accelerate the timeline from discovery to impact.

Areas of exploration include:

• Improved plant productivity, both indoors and outside
• Reduced reliance on inputs including water, fertilisers, pesticides, and herbicides
• Novel decarbonised plant‑based production platforms for food and medicines
• Advanced technologies that speed up discovery and deployment in plants

Researchers will have access to state‑of‑the‑art laboratory and plant growth facilities and opportunities to collaborate with experts on AI, automation, and generative biology across the EIT ecosystem. They will also work with global leaders in market development, commercialisation and impact creation. The Plant Biology Institute has long‑term substantial funding to support its unique scale and ambition.

We are seeking an accomplished leader to serve as Head of Metabolic Analysis and Modelling for the Plant Biology Institute. This pivotal role will shape a newly established and rapidly scaling institute that aspires to become a global leader in delivering scientific breakthroughs with real‑world impact.

The successful candidate will establish and lead PBI's metabolic analysis, delivering analytical capabilities and workflows to support PBI's trait and technology research groups.

This role requires close collaboration with research scientists working across a broad range of projects, including plant and microbial metabolic engineering, plant breeding, and plant phenotyping. The role will involve working with institutional stakeholders to scope, design, equip, and operate a new function within the research institute.

• Lead and develop the Institute's metabolic analysis, delivering robust, scalable analytical frameworks to provide metabolite and metabolic modelling analysis to support plant biology research programmes
• Define and implement a strategic vision for integrative metabolic analysis that aligns with the Institute's scientific priorities and long‑term goals
• Drive the development and application of predictive models of plant metabolism, resource use, and productivity to inform experimental design and technology development
• Design, implement, and maintain advanced analysis workflows and pipelines for the integration and analysis of multi‑omics and high‑throughput biological datasets
• Develop reproducible, well‑documented, and version‑controlled analysis frameworks, supporting transparency, open science, and collaborative research
• Ensure analytical platforms are robust, scalable, and interoperable, supporting both exploratory research and translational applications
• Remain at the forefront of emerging methods in metabolic analysis, metabolic modelling, machine learning, and data‑driven biology, identifying opportunities to apply new tools to accelerate discovery
• Work closely with experimental scientists, Group Leaders and technology teams across all of EIT to co‑develop analytical approaches that directly support experimental programmes and strategic…