Responsibilities

Job Summary 

We are looking for highly motivated candidate for the role of Team Leader & Assay Scientist to build their career and support the PerkinElmer OneSource Scientific Services at one of our customer sites in Stevenage.

The successful candidate will be working within the PerkinElmer Technical Laboratory Services (TLS) division and will be responsible for leading a team of PerkinElmer scientists supporting GSK research, whilst also supplying cell culture and assay support services. The primary customer department is in the Large Molecule Discovery (LMD) sector of R&D which is at the forefront of developing innovative and life-changing medicines for patients.

The role will provide an opportunity to develop skills associated with line management, assay support, cell culture and having the opportunity to collaborate with numerous biological groups across the site and service lines. The candidate will work within a collaborative team environment across diverse biotherapeutic portfolio within the company and can develop in PerkinElmer’s scientific arena.

This role will report into the PerkinElmer EMEA Technical Laboratory Services Leader and will work within GSK biological groups within the Stevenage Campus.

Job Responsibilities

Managerial Duties

• Supervise and contribute to the team in the delivery of a high-quality support to the customers.

• Responsible for overseeing the work, training, development, and safety of all reporting staff and dealing with operational and performance issues within the team; escalate to line manager as appropriate.

• Assist in the recruitment process of suitable personnel into the TLS team, to carry out induction and training.

• Ensure team procedures are performed within the confines of the relevant safety regulations.

• Assist in the generation of SOPs/work instructions/local method statements/risk assessments where necessary. Ascertain any relevant quality, skill, or safety requirements.

• Ensure team compliance with all relevant working instructions, SOPs, and safety instructions.

• Escalate business development opportunities to line manager.

• To ensure timely and accurate reporting of data including performance metric.

Operational Duties

• Maintain cell cultures and perform cell culture duties as directed including reagent generation, aliquoting and cryopreservation.

• Performing molecular biology, biochemistry, and cell-based assays such as endotoxin testing, non-specific binding assays, cell binding assays.

• Perform sample preparation, staining, data acquisition, and analysis using flow cytometry.

• Perform biological assays in microtitre plates using accurate pipetting.

• Carry out high-throughput compound screening assays

• Routine maintenance and processing of samples using laboratory automation platforms.

• High-performance liquid chromatography for separation and analysis of biomolecules and functional groupsAnalysis of data using corporate tools; application of QC rules to show acceptability

• Publish and report experimental data in electronic notebooks

• Be an active member of the scientific teams – contribute at team meetings by presenting data and looking for opportunities for innovation.

• Undertake ordering of compounds and reagents and track reagent use

• Suggest improvements of current assay platforms

• Track assay performance metrics & communicate issues.

• Comply to Health and Safety procedures for own well-being and quality of product.

• Actively seek opportunities to develop the service by discussion with customer or by the sharing of best practice with other groups.

• Assist with the preparation of SOPs, Risk Assessments and best practice guides.

• Act as an ambassador for TLS and promote PerkinElmer’s core values.

• Operate to approved quality standards.

• Work independently and flexibly depending on team priorities and set realistic work schedules to support requirements.

Preferred Education/Experience/Qualifications

• BSc or equivalent in relevant life sciences subject (e.g. pharmacology, biochemistry, biotechnology, or biomedical sciences), with relevant laboratory experience.

• 1-2 years’ experience of leading high throughput research teams, preferably within a pharma environment.

• Demonstrable experience of leading multiple research staff with responsibility for task delegation and project work prioritisation.

• 2 years of demonstrated technical expertise/or equivalent in cell culture, general lab instrumentation, cell-based assays such as proliferation, immunoassays such as ELISA.

• Experience with basic Flow Cytometry, ideally PSR binding, and including analysis of data

• Experience with biologic HPLC ideally including HIC and aSEC

• Experience with any of the following is preferable, but not essential: CellTiter Glo, Caspase Glo, Incucyte, western blot, isolation and culture of primary cells such as peripheral blood mononuclear cells, MSD assays.

• Demonstrable knowledge of cell culture, cell lines and aseptic technique.

• Understanding of standard software packages (i.e.: Microsoft Office)

• Highly motivated and independent, yet able to work well in a group setting.

• Ability to work independently and deliver high-quality, consistent results in a timely fashion.

• Ability to meet timelines successfully with the utmost attention to detail while setting high performance standards.

• Ability to understand, interpret, and communicate complex scientific data.

• Ability to execute new and established methods and protocols.

• Outstanding communication and interpersonal skills

Physical Demands 

• Sit or stand 4-5 hours in laboratory areas.

• Work around moving laboratory equipment and machinery.

• Work with biohazards such as blood borne pathogens.

• Hepatitis B vaccination will be required, Vaccination programme in place for successful candidates who are not already vaccinated or require updated boosters.

• All work is carried out in a containment level 2 environment.

• Appropriate PPE must always be worn (Lab coat, gloves, eye protection).

• Reach above/below the shoulder, bend at the knees and waist.

• Office work activities, including keyboard, up to 2-3 hours.

Working Environment

• Must be able to work in a laboratory, controlled environments requiring personal protective equipment.

• Job pace may be fast and job completion demands may be high.

• Employee maybe required to manage hazardous wastes in compliance with company procedures & State/Federal/Local hazardous waste regulations. Duties may include: Identifying, handling, generating, accumulating, storing, labelling.

• Ensure safety, security, and the environment in all aspect of the daily activities, and any potential safety hazards are addressed and corrected immediately.

• Understand ergonomic relationship between people, equipment and working environment.

Join our Team!

We are strongly committed to the development of your career and giving you opportunities to learn and grow.

We make a difference for you while you make a difference in the world!