AI and Automation Lead Plant Transformation - Plant Biology Institute

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

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

This is ambitious work - work that demands curiosity, courage, and a relentless drive to make a difference. At EIT, you’ll join a community built on excellence, innovation, tenacity, trust, and collaboration, where bold ideas become real-world breakthroughs. Together, we push boundaries, embrace complexity, and create solutions to scale ideas from lab to society. Explore more .org

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 who are focused on expanding the frontiers of plant science. Our research is focused on enhancing our ability to feed the planet while simultaneously improving the climate and ecosystem outcomes of food production. By embedding cutting‑edge plant science research within an organisation that is focused on solving global challenges at scale, we aim to accelerate the timeline from discovery to global 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 have opportunities to collaborate with experts at the forefront of research 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 the unique scale and ambition of its vision.

At EIT we are seeking a highly motivated and skilled
Lead for AI & Automation for Plant Transformation
to join the Transformation Facility at the pioneering Plant Biology Institute. The candidate will work closely with the AI & Robotics (AIR) team at EIT, and other external partners, providing plant sciences subject matter expertise to co‑develop AI and automation solutions that transform and accelerate plant transformation workflows while enhancing pipeline efficiency.

The successful candidate will work within a matrixed, cross functional project team to guide the design and deployment of technology which integrates robotics, computer vision, and data infrastructure to enable scalable, reproducible and data‑rich transformation platforms, supporting the team with subject matter expertise, structured project planning and execution, and accountability for outcomes.

This role offers a unique opportunity to establish an applied technologies team while collaborating across multidisciplinary teams to drive innovation from lab to global impact. The candidate will be expected to play an active role in translating research into commercially applicable tools to advance trait programs and delivering commercial solutions aligned with EIT’s mission of humane technological advancement. This is an exciting opportunity to develop as a leader in a dynamic, well‑supported, and purpose‑driven environment.

• Provide plant sciences subject matter expertise to design, develop and implement automated robotic systems for transformation and tissue culture workflows.
• Co‑develop computer vision systems for the transformation pipeline, validation of phenotyping and automation tools, and performance optimization. Lead the data…