Applications scientist, Research​/Development

Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) is transforming the way scientists and researchers analyze DNA and RNA through real-time, accessible sequencing technology. Our innovative nanopore platform enables breakthroughs across research, clinical genomics, infectious disease, oncology, and many other fields.

We are looking for an enthusiastic and collaborative Applications Scientist to join our Commercial Applications team in Alameda, California. This is an exciting opportunity for an early-career scientist who enjoys hands‑on laboratory work, customer collaboration, and solving complex scientific challenges using cutting‑edge sequencing technologies.

The Opportunity

As an Applications Scientist, you will support strategic customer collaborations by designing and executing wet lab experiments, generating high-quality nanopore sequencing data, and partnering with bioinformatics, commercial, and R&D teams to deliver meaningful scientific outcomes.

You’ll work across a wide variety of applications, including:

• Rare and undiagnosed diseases
• Oncology
• Single‑cell and spatial biology
• Multiomics
• Whole genome sequencing
• Transcriptomics
• Adaptive sampling

This role offers an excellent opportunity to broaden your expertise across diverse sequencing applications while working directly with customers and internal scientific experts.

What You’ll Do

Experimental Design & Laboratory Research

• Design and execute sequencing experiments, including library preparation strategies and sequencing workflows.
• Generate high-quality nanopore sequencing data from diverse sample types.
• Perform molecular biology techniques including:
  • DNA and RNA extraction
  • Library preparation
  • PCR
  • Fragmentation and size selection
  • Library quality control
  • Cell culture
• Troubleshoot technical challenges related to sample preparation, library construction, multiplexing strategies, and sequencing performance.

Customer & Scientific Collaboration

• Partner with customers and internal teams to support strategic research collaborations.
• Provide technical guidance on sequencing workflows, laboratory best practices, expected yields, and read-length optimization.
• Collaborate closely with bioinformatics scientists to analyze and interpret sequencing results.
• Contribute scientific expertise across multiple nanopore sequencing applications.

Scientific Communication

• Prepare technical reports, presentations, posters, application notes, and other customer-facing materials.
• Clearly communicate project outcomes and recommendations to customers and internal stakeholders.

Laboratory Operations

• Maintain laboratory inventory, including reagents, consumables, sequencing flow cells, and supplies.
• Ensure laboratory activities comply with quality standards, safety procedures, and operational best practices.

What You’ll Bring

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, or a related Life Science discipline with 1–3 years of industry experience,
  or
• Master’s degree in Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, or a related field.
• Strong wet lab molecular biology experience gained through academic or industry research.
• Solid understanding of molecular biology principles and experimental design.
• Excellent troubleshooting and critical thinking skills.
• Strong written and verbal communication abilities.
• Ability to manage multiple projects in a collaborative, fast-paced environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with next-generation sequencing (NGS), particularly long-read sequencing technologies.
• Experience working directly with customers or external collaborators.
• Familiarity with bioinformatics tools and computational analysis.
• Experience using Linux, command-line interfaces (CLI), HPC environments, Python, R, or data analysis workflows.

Knowledge of genomics applications including transcriptomics, metagenomics, targeted sequencing, or whole genome sequencing.

Please note that no terminology in this advert is intended to discriminate on the grounds of a person's gender, marital status, race, religion, colour, age, disability or sexual orientation. Every candidate will be assessed only in accordance with their merits, qualifications and abilities to perform the duties of the job.

The salary for this role…