{"id":2612896,"url":"https://alion.io/job/crick-senior-laboratory-research-scientist","title":"Senior Laboratory Research Scientist","company":{"id":1761999,"name":"Crick","domain":"crick.ac.uk","url":"https://alion.io/company/crick-ac-uk","size_band":null,"is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Workday","truth_index":null},"role":"Science & Research","role_family":"Science & Research","seniority":"senior","employment_type":null,"work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["London, United Kingdom"],"countries":["GB"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":{"min":47080,"max":null,"currency":"GBP","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":61905},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":null,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[],"status":"closed","first_seen_at":"2026-10-08T00:00:00Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-10-08","last_verified_at":"2026-10-21T15:35:42Z","board_verified":false,"closed_at":"2026-10-21T15:35:42Z","days_open":13,"trust":{"level":"not_scored","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":13},"description":"Salary for this Role:\nFrom £47,080 with benefits, subject to skills and experience.\nJob Title:\nSenior Laboratory Research ScientistReports to:\nVikram Chandra [C]Closing Date:\n19/Oct/2026 23.59 GMTJob Description:\nJob Title: Senior Laboratory Research Scientist - transgenics engineering and animal care\nDetails of the role:\nReporting to: Vikram Chandra, Group leader\nWorking pattern: This is a full-time, permanent position on Crick terms and conditions of employment\nSalary: From £47,080 with benefits, subject to skills and experience\nApplication closing date: 19th of of October 2026 at 23:59\nAbout us\nThe Francis Crick Institute is Europe’s largest biomedical research institute under one roof. Our world-class scientists and staff collaborate on vital research to help prevent, diagnose and treat illnesses such as cancer, heart disease, infectious diseases and neurodegenerative conditions.\nThe Crick is a place for collaboration, innovation and exploration across many disciplines. A space where the brightest minds can pursue big and bold ideas and discover answers to crucial scientific questions. We support them in a dynamic environment which fosters excellence with state-of-the-art infrastructure, cutting-edge facilities, and a creative and curious culture. We’ve removed traditional boundaries of departments, divisions and disciplines and instead have an open approach that supports every researcher. This gives us the freedom to take risks and carry out high-quality, pioneering research. Creating a space for discovery without boundaries helps us to turn our science into benefits for human health and the economy.\nThe Research Group\nThe Chandra lab studies the evolution of brains and behaviour, using acoels as a model to ask how diffuse nerve nets transitioned into centralised brains and to understand its consequences.\nThe lab has developed the acoel Hofstenia miamia as a new neuroscience model. Hofstenia has a unique 'diffuse brain' composed of undifferentiated tiles of circuits that interact to generate distributed computation. By studying Hofstenia in a comparative context, the lab aims to uncover the organising principles of diffuse brains and understand how the first animal brains evolved from ancient nerve nets. Research combines a range of approaches to investigate neural architecture, circuit activity, computational function and behavioural control.\nFind more about the Chandra lab here\nAbout the role\nWe are seeking an innovative and highly motivated Senior Laboratory Research Scientist to join the Chandra Lab and play a leading role in advancing our research into brain evolution and function.\nThis position will involve leading a project focused on engineering transgenic lines in Hofstenia and potentially other acoel species, helping to establish and expand a cutting-edge experimental platform for investigating nervous system organisation, regeneration, and behaviour. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to contribute directly to pioneering discoveries in an emerging neuroscience model and shape the direction of a growing research programme.\nIn addition to driving transgenics based research, the postholder will be responsible for animal care and the maintenance of healthy acoel cultures, as well as supporting the day to day operation of the laboratory to ensure the smooth delivery of research activities. This is a varied and hands on role that combines scientific leadership, technical expertise, and laboratory management within a collaborative and intellectually stimulating environment.\nThe role offers an excellent opportunity for an ambitious scientist to develop new methodologies, contribute to high impact research, and help build novel experimental resources that will advance our understanding of how brains evolve.\nWhat you will be doing:\nYou will have both transgenics research and lab management tasks including:\nexperiments aimed at identifying optimal engineering protocols to develop stable transgenic lines in acoel worms\nplasmid design, cloning, molecular biology, embryo microinjections\ngeneration and maintenance of stable transgenic lines\nanimal care, including collecting embryos, rearing juvenile wild-type and transgenic Hofstenia and potentially other acoel species, and monitoring an automated sea water recirculation system\nhelping set up and organising the wet lab; onboarding lab members\nmanaging reagents, consumables, and equipment; maintaining inventory\ncontributing to writing papers, and collaborating within and outside the lab where appropriate\nPlease click here for full job description\nAbout you\nYou will have:\nPhD in molecular biology or a related field*\nexpertise in genetic engineering*\nexperience with embryo microinjection*\nability to work both independently and collaboratively*\na track record of completing scientific projects, evidenced by authorship on rigorous peer-reviewed articles*\nexperience with marine invertebrates or other non-model species (desirable)\nMinimum criteria*\nAbout Working at the Crick\nOur values\nEveryone who works at the Crick has a valuable role to play in advancing the Crick’s mission and shaping our culture.\nWe are bold. We make space for creative, dynamic and imaginative ideas and approaches. We’re not afraid to do things differently. \nWe are open. We’re highly collaborative and interactive, and make sure our activities are visible to the outside world. \nWe are collegial. We show respect for one another, work cooperatively and support the wider community. \nAt the Francis Crick Institute, we believe that diversity and inclusion are essential to driving innovation and scientific discovery. We are committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels valued, respected, and empowered to succeed, regardless of their background, identity, or personal circumstances. We actively encourage applications from individuals of all genders, ethnicities, abilities, and experiences. We are a Disability Confident: Committed employer and want to ensure that everyone can apply and be part of our recruitment processes and so we'll make reasonable adjustments if you need them - just let us know when you apply. If you need assistance with applying (i.e., would like to apply by phone or post) please email: \nFind out more about life at the Crick.\nWhat will you receive?\nAt the Francis Crick Institute, we value our team members and are proud to offer an extensive range of benefits to support their well-being and development:\nVisas: Applicants for this role will be eligible for sponsorship to work in the UK \nGenerous Leave: 28 days of annual leave, plus three additional days over Christmas and bank holidays. \nPension Scheme: Defined contribution pension with employer contributions of up to 16%. \nHealth & Well-being: \n24/7 GP consultation services. \nOccupational health services and mental health support programs. \nEye care vouchers and discounted healthcare plans. \nWork-Life Balance: \nBack-up care for dependents. \nChildcare support allowance. \nAnnual leave purchase options. \nCrick Networks offering diverse groups’ support, community and inclusive social events.\nPerks: \nDiscounted gym memberships, bike-to-work scheme, and shopping discounts. \nSubsidised on-site restaurant and social spaces for team interaction. \nPlease note you must meet the essential criteria listed within the Role Profile, to have your application reviewed.\nWe reserve the right to withdraw this advert at any given time due to the number of applications received.","description_format":"text","description_chars":7517,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":null,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":{"level":"phd","optional":false},"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":["Annual leave","Gym membership"],"hiring_locations":[],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":[],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-10-15T11:31:08Z"},{"event":"close","at":"2026-10-21T15:35:42Z"}],"visa":[],"liveness":null,"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":61905,"is_top_pay":false},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/crick-senior-laboratory-research-scientist","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/crick-senior-laboratory-research-scientist.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-22T13:03:19Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":11925,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-10-23T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":1761999},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=1761999"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fcrick-senior-laboratory-research-scientist"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Fcrick-senior-laboratory-research-scientist"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Fcrick-senior-laboratory-research-scientist"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/crick-senior-laboratory-research-scientist\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fcrick-senior-laboratory-research-scientist"}]}