Mass Spectrometry Technician

Join us at 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 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 at www.eit.org.

Welcome to the Plant Biology Institute:

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.

Your Role:

We are seeking a detail-oriented and proactive Mass Spectrometry Laboratory Technician to provide essential laboratory and experimental support for Mass Spectrometry in the Plant Biology Institute, with a particular focus on LC-MS and GC-MS workflows. The technician will work closely with a Metabolomics and Mass Spectrometry Scientist, within a broader platform team that provides and continuously develops analytical infrastructure functionalities to researchers pursuing ambitious scientific goals.

This role involves hands-on responsibility for setting up and conducting mass spectrometry analyses in support of research priorities of the institute, as well as collaborating with researchers across EIT. Furthermore, the post-holder will ensure the smooth and efficient operation of mass spectrometry facilities through routine maintenance, calibration, quality control and troubleshooting, and use appropriate protocols to process samples for analysis.  

The ideal candidate will have experience performing these functions in a fast-moving environment, an interest in contributing to commercially sustainable solutions for real-life impact and be a detail-oriented problem solver. 

This role offers a unique opportunity to be involved in high-impact research at the forefront of plant science, while collaborating across multidisciplinary teams and contribute to innovation from lab to global impact. 

Your Responsibilities:

• Perform high-quality GC-MS and LC-MS analyses, selecting and applying appropriate protocols for different sample types. 
• Process and prepare biological samples for mass spectrometry. 
• Acquire, process, manage, and analyse data from MS experiments, using specialised software, appropriate database queries, and bioinformatics tools.  
• Consult with researchers on experimental design, sample processing requirements, analytical approaches, and interpretation of mass spectrometry data. 
• Train users on LC-MS and GC-MS data acquisition and data analysis. 
• Perform routine instrument maintenance, calibration, quality control, and troubleshooting as needed. 
• Manage supplier relationships, such as organising and attending meetings with representatives or manufacturer engineers and coordinating necessary visits for maintenance and repairs. 
• Maintain accurate experimental records, instrument logs, and documentation in accordance with established SOPs. 
• Ensure compliance with laboratory health and safety procedures and good laboratory practice. 
• Assist with inventory and stock management for mass spectrometry facilities. 

Essential Skills, Qualifications & Experience:

• BSc degree in chemistry, analytical chemistry, or an equivalent discipline. 
• 3 years of experience in the operation, calibration, maintenance and troubleshooting of mass spectrometry instrumentation. 
• Experience with the operation, calibration, and troubleshooting of chromatography systems. 
• Experience preparing and processing biological samples for chromatographic and mass spectrometry analyses. 
• Experience with data processing and interpretation using mass spectrometry software packages. 

Desirable Knowledge, Skills and Experience: 

• Specialist knowledge of GC-MS column selection and method optimisation appropriate to different analyte classes and sample types. 
• Experience with the operation and maintenance of a range of mass spectrometry instrument types. 
• Experience utilising R, MATLAB, Python, or similar tools for data processing, analysis and visualisation. 
• Relevant experience in metabolomics, plant science, environmental analysis, forensic analysis, clinical research, or related fields. 
• Experience in targeted and untargeted data acquisition and data analysis, and familiarity with suitable methodological approaches and software for each respective case. 
• Commercial awareness and relevant work experience in an industry setting, biotech startup, or comparable environment. 
• Experience working within a core facility, shared instrumentation platform, or similar environment. 
• Experience with laboratory information management systems (LIMS). 

Our Benefits:

• Salary dependent on experience + travel allowance + bonus
• Enhanced holiday + options to buy additional days
• Pension
• Life Assurance
• Income Protection
• Private Medical Insurance
• Hospital Cash Plan
• Therapy Services
• Perk Box
• Electric Car Scheme
• Childcare benefit

Working Together – What It Involves:

• You must have the right to work permanently in the UK with a willingness to travel as necessary. In certain cases, we can consider sponsorship, and this will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
• You will live in, or within easy commuting distance of, Oxford (or be willing to relocate).