Translational Technician - Generative 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 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.

Welcome to the Generative Biology Institute

Led by Founding Director Jason Chin, the Generative Biology Institute (GBI) at the Ellison Institute of Technology is tackling the key challenges in making biology engineerable, and thereby unlocking the unrivalled power of biology for the benefit of humanity.

The vision of the GBI is to lay the foundations for engineering biology, and unlock its potential for good. To achieve this, we must overcome two key challenges. First, we need the ability to write in the natural language of biology, enabling the rapid and scalable synthesis of entire genomes with precision. Second, we must understand what to write - determining which DNA sequences will generate biological systems that perform the desired functions. Addressing these challenges will allow us to harness the full power of biology to create transformative solutions across health, agriculture, clean energy and more.  

The Generative Biology Institute commenced operations in 2025, occupying newly renovated bespoke space in the Oxford Science Park. The team will later move to a purpose-made facility in the Oxford Science Park, currently under construction. Once complete, this state-of-the-art facility will include more than 40,000 m² of research laboratory and office space.  It will house over 30 groups and up to 600 employees at scale, focused on solving the two critical challenges in making biology engineerable and applying the solutions to addressing the global challenges encapsulated in EIT’s Humane Endeavours.

GBI Translational Platform

We are seeking skilled Translational Technicians to help translate foundational work from GBI into real-world applications within the GBI Translational Platform. Our platform aims to leverage an orthogonal replication system for the accelerated evolution of commercially relevant proteins. This is an opportunity to join at an early stage and play a meaningful role in shaping both our science and culture.

In this role, you will execute and troubleshoot wet-lab experiments in microbiology and synthetic biology. You will contribute to the development of robust, reproducible, and scalable workflows. You will help build and maintain laboratory capabilities, including the operation of state-of-the-art molecular biology instruments. In doing so, you will contribute directly to the success of our Translational Platform.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. In your cover letter, please clearly explain your fit, interest, and relevant experience for joining the GBI Translational Platform. All applications must be submitted exclusively though the EIT job portal. If you would like to discuss this role in more detail prior to submitting an application, please contact Cyril Schroeder at cyril.schroeder@eit.org.

Ideal candidates are hands-on, proactive, and excited about translating basic science into commercial applications.

Essential Skills, Qualifications & Experience:

• BSc or MSc in molecular biology, synthetic biology, biotechnology, microbiology, or a related field
• Strong wet-lab experience, ideally in molecular cloning and bacterial genome editing
• Highly organized, structured, and self-motivated
• Be a collaborative team player with strong interpersonal skills

Our Benefits:

• Salary: Competitive + travel allowance + bonus
• Enhanced holiday pay
• Pension
• Life Assurance
• Income Protection
• Private Medical Insurance
• Hospital Cash Plan
• Therapy Services
• Perk Box
• Electric Car Scheme

Working Together – What It Involves:

• You must be eligible to work in the UK with a willingness to travel as necessary. We are open to sponsoring employment visas for this role; however sponsorship is not available for all visa types or in all circumstances. Eligibility will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

• You must be based in, or within easy commuting distance of, Oxford. Or be willing to relocate

• During peak periods, some longer hours may be required.