Role

Untap is looking for a biochemist to lead the development, testing and validation of our new products and services. You will be responsible for developing new assays for the detection of pathogens in wastewater samples, and for designing experiments to test and validate Untap’s innovative hardware solutions. The job will be predominantly based in London, with occasional field work projects inside and outside of London, collecting data to indicate viral risk levels to Untap’s customers.

Responsibilities

• Developing assays (PCR primers and probes) for the detection of microbial contaminants in water sources.
• Designing experiments to validate the performance of our automated water quality monitoring instrumentation.
• Quality control and assurance.
• Data analysis and preparing reports for customers.
• Managing field work operations at commercial sites (including care homes, offices, factories).
• Maintaining environmental monitoring equipment such as robotic auto-samplers.
• Ownership of biochemistry work packages.
• Contributing to meetings and partnerships with collaborators, including presentation of results.

The ideal candidate

• Strong, evidence-backed experience in the analytical sciences
• Biochemistry or similar degree including research projects (i.e. Masters level or above)
• Confident in nucleic acid extraction and qPCR (both experimental work and data analysis)
• Portfolio of work outputs, e.g. research papers, successful projects, or other demonstrated achievements
• Evidence of project leadership, a self-starter, and able to think outside the box to create original, thoughtful work
• Previous experience organising work projects, including researching and then applying new methods and materials
• Demonstrating keen interest to join a dynamic and growing startup company, working within an interdisciplinary team
• UK driver’s license

Desirable but not essential

• Field work experience
• Experience in environmental testing (e.g. water, air, soil or other samples)

Benefits

• Developing cutting-edge, innovative technology products
• Rewarding work, helping keep our communities safe from disease transmission
• Potential to make a huge impact within a growing team
• Equity options
• Experience in product development and delivering new services