NPL’s Biometrology group wishes to appoint a Higher Scientist in protein spectroscopy.
The group is a multidisciplinary team of biologists, chemists and physicists developing innovative materials, tools, and methods in response to the challenges of reproducibility, traceability, and comparability in biological R&D as well as the lack of suitable biological standards.
If you have a background in biochemistry or chemistry and a passion for investigating protein function and applications this could be the perfect opportunity for you. Your focus will be on the measurement challenges associated with establishing structure-function relationships of native and engineered proteins in solution. Areas of application include the development of optogenetic and magnetogenetic tools, the structure/function assessment of protein-based drugs, and the exploitation of quantum technologies in the life sciences and healthcare. You will also get the opportunity to engage with other areas of the group’s activity as appropriate.
As a Higher Scientist, you'll be expected to acquire new knowledge to find solutions to advance our research. Also, if commercial opportunities arise from your work, you'll need to flag these – as this is how new products and services are born. At NPL, we learn from each other, respect each other, and work together to do better for ourselves and our customers.
What you’ll be doing:
Express and purify recombinant proteins (e.g., photoreceptors, enzymes, engineered proteins) for functional investigation and method development; Operate and help maintain a protein production facility, comprising molecular biology, microbiology, cell culture, and protein purification capabilities; Collect and analyse data from protein characterisation, quality control, and mechanistic investigations using a range of biochemical and biophysical techniques (e.g., absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy, analytical SEC, light scattering); Work across scientific disciplines with various NPL groups and external collaborators (academia, industry, and international partners) to design and deliver a range of R&D projects; Prepare technical reports and disseminate results in the form of scientific papers and conference presentations; Work well within collaborative teams and closely with colleagues and partners to develop commercial opportunities. Sharing your learnings so that we all benefit and mentoring those with less experience than you;
* Developing partnerships to strengthen our capability;
Acting as an ambassador for our work externally and being willing to promote what we do; Providing technical support for any bids we may be undertaking.