Research & Development Toxicologist

Final date to receive applications: 15 November 2026

Department: Toxicology

Employment Type: Permanent - Full Time

Location: Poole

Compensation: £40,000 - £55,000 / year

Diversity matters

We are building a brand that represents the people of the world. It’s what you do that counts, and we are always looking to expand perspectives and voices to shape our future.

We see you, we celebrate you, we want you!

Who we are

You might know us as the inventors of the bath bomb, but there’s more to this great-smelling, partly employee-owned, family-run company than pioneering cosmetics. We believe our business should put more back into the world than it takes and demonstrate that capitalism can be a force for good.

The Living Wage Foundation’s statement 'a hard day's work deserves a fair day's pay' is one that we are proud to commit to in the UK. As an accredited Living Wage employer, we put our people first and fight cruel practices like animal testing, promote regeneration, and show that it is what’s inside that counts - whether that’s an ingredient in a product, or the minerals in a smartphone.

Role Overview

Cosmetic Warriors is the central research, formulation, and IP entity behind the Lush brand. It pioneers product invention, upholds our strict non-animal testing standards, and ensures every ingredient and formula is safe and viable for global distribution.

We have always campaigned fiercely against animal testing and are committed to innovation without animal testing. Alongside our human volunteer testing, we commission and lead our own human cell culture (in vitro) testing programs for both raw materials and finished products. We are looking for an experienced Research & Development Toxicology Support to join our team to support product safety sign-offs, manage ingredient data, and champion non-animal safety science alongside our R&D and Regulatory Affairs teams.

As part of the Cosmetic Warriors Scientific Safety function, this role bridges creative R&D, fragrance invention, and global regulatory compliance. You will work directly at the source of product creation, providing the toxicological data and scientific backing needed to prove that Lush products are safe, innovative, and ethically sound.

As part of the broader Cosmetic Warriors function, you will play a key hands-on role in ensuring all products created for the Lush Brand are safe, viable, and compliant. You will advise in-house formulation teams, manage raw material data, and liaise directly with external testing partners, such as XCellR8, to interpret and act on non-animal test results.

Want to see where a career at Lush could take you? Head over here to explore real stories of growth and development across the business.

Please note:
We may close this vacancy early if we receive an overwhelming response or our business requirements change.

• Advise in-house Research & Development (R&D), fragrance development, and product inventing teams on the safety profiles of fragrance materials, essential oils, and raw cosmetic ingredients.
• Provide clear guidance on safe usage levels, exposure limits, and concentration thresholds for new formulations to ensure products are both effective and safe for consumers.
• Act as a core member of the Cosmetic Warriors safety function, contributing to wider risk assessments and safety studies required to prove product viability for the Lush brand.

• Act as a primary technical contact for XCellR8 (and other animal-free testing partners), managing sample pipelines and test schedules.
• Analyze, interpret, and feed back on in vitro test results received from XCellR8 to inform formulation…