Laboratory Technician (Plant Cell Culture) - Plant Biology Institute

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 .

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:

EIT is seeking a detail-oriented and proactive Laboratory Technician – Plant Cell Culture to provide hands-on laboratory and experimental work in plant tissue and cell culture within the Plant Biology Institute’s (PBI) cell-based production research programme and, where prioritised, wider PBI research projects.

This role involves hands-on responsibility for supporting and executing plant tissue and cell culture experiments and workflows planned by the Plant Cell Culture Lead. Activities may include culture initiation, maintenance and subculturing, preparation of media and reagents, sterile handling, sampling, basic characterisation, and support for method development, optimisation and downstream analysis. The successful candidate will assist with data collection, maintain accurate and traceable records, and uphold rigorous aseptic, laboratory safety and maintenance standards within the tissue culture laboratory. With responsibilities spanning inventory management, equipment upkeep, sample handling and communication of observations and results, this position is integral to the smooth operation of cell-based research workflows and the delivery of high-quality scientific outcomes. Ideal candidates will bring technical competence, strong organisational skills, and a collaborative mindset to support breakthrough research aligned with EIT’s mission.

The successful candidate will work within the Cell-based Production team and collaborate with other PBI researchers, helping to maintain a safe, organised and efficient laboratory environment while supporting multiple concurrent research activities.

Plant Cell Culture and Experimental Support

• Support and execute plant tissue and cell culture experiments and workflows planned by the Plant Cell Culture Lead.
• Prepare sterile media, reagents and consumables for plant tissue and cell culture work. Initiate, maintain, subculture and monitor aseptic plant tissue culture materials, including sterile seedlings, explants, in vitro shoots, callus cultures and liquid suspension cultures.
• Support broader experimental workflows across the plant cell culture programme, including but not limited to culture characterisation, method development, process optimisation, cryopreservation, cell banking, viability assessment and other plant cell culture activities required by project plans.
• Routinely monitor cultures for growth, morphology, contamination, viability and other relevant characteristics, escalating technical issues as appropriate.
• Collect, label and prepare samples for molecular, biochemical, phenotypic or metabolic analysis according to established protocols.
• Maintain accurate records of culture history, passage number, sample identity, experimental observations, deviations and results in laboratory notebooks, ELN or other digital systems.
• Operate and monitor routine equipment and instruments used in plant tissue and cell culture workflows, escalating equipment issues as appropriate.
• Assist with troubleshooting routine technical issues in plant tissue and cell culture workflows, including contamination, poor culture growth, media preparation issues and equipment-related problems.

Laboratory Support and Maintenance 

• Maintain clean, organised and aseptic plant tissue and cell culture workspaces, including laminar-flow cabinets, culture preparation areas, shared equipment and culture handling areas, in accordance with SOPs and laboratory standards.
• Support contamination control by following aseptic procedures, sterilising tools and consumables appropriately, monitoring culture quality and reporting contamination or equipment issues promptly. 
• Support general laboratory housekeeping, including organisation of shared spaces, storage areas, instruments and consumables.
• Disinfect and sterilise laboratory tools, consumables, and areas according to established protocols. 
• Ensure equipment and shared resources are used, cleaned, stored and maintained appropriately, assisting with equipment setup, calibration checks and basic troubleshooting where required. 
• Comply with EIT health and safety procedures, COSHH requirements, biosafety and waste disposal procedures, GMO regulations, SOPs and plant quarantine requirements where applicable.

Data collection and record keeping

• Accurately record experimental procedures, observations, culture histories, sample metadata and results in laboratory notebooks, ELN or other digital systems.
• Maintain clear records of cell line provenance, passage history, storage location, sample labelling and experimental outputs.
• Contribute to the implementation, documentation and continuous improvement of SOPs, experimental workflows and best-practice approaches for reproducible plant tissue and cell culture work.
• Support data organisation, basic analysis and preparation of experimental summaries for the Plant Cell Culture Lead and project teams.
• Communicate observations, results, deviations, contamination events, equipment issues and other technical matters clearly and promptly.
• Work collaboratively with scientists, technical teams and automation specialists to support cell culture activities across the Cell Based Production team and wider PBI.

Inventory, Sample and Equipment Management

• Assist in managing inventory of media components, reagents, consumables, and biological materials in accordance with EIT procedures. 
• Keep accurate stock records, support ordering of new supplies and ensure materials are correctly labelled, stored and available for planned workflows.
• Handle, transport and store biological samples, cultures and consumables safely, ensuring appropriate documentation, labelling and traceability.
• Deliver and retrieve samples or materials between laboratory areas, researchers or technical teams as required. 

Requirements

Essential Skills, Qualifications & Experience:

• BSc, HNC/HND or equivalent qualification/practical experience in plant biology, biology, biotechnology, cell culture, molecular biology or a related discipline.
• Practical experience in plant tissue culture, plant cell culture or closely related aseptic plant culture workflows.
• Familiarity with aseptic techniques, sterile media preparation, autoclaving, reagent preparation and safe disposal of biological and chemical waste.
• Ability to follow SOPs and experimental protocols accurately, while recognising when to escalate issues such as contamination, poor culture growth, equipment faults, deviations or stock shortages.
• Good numerical skills, with the ability to perform routine laboratory calculations, prepare reagents accurately and organise basic experimental data.
• Competent IT skills, including use of standard office software for recording data, managing files and preparing simple summaries.
• Good organisational skills and attention to detail, with the ability to maintain accurate records, labels, inventories and sample traceability.
• Basic understanding of laboratory health and safety, COSHH, biosafety and good laboratory practice.
• Ability to work collaboratively as part of a multidisciplinary team and manage multiple routine and experimental tasks reliably.

Desirable Skills, Qualifications & Experience:

• Basic knowledge of plant anatomy relevant to explant preparation, tissue selection and interpretation of plant tissue or cell culture morphology.
• Hands-on experience initiating and maintaining plant tissue cultures from sterile seedlings, explants, in vitro shoots, callus or other aseptic plant materials.
• Experience in plant dissection and explant preparation using sterile tools and microscopy, such as scalpels, forceps and dissecting/stereo microscopes.
• Experience with plant cell suspension cultures, including subculture, growth monitoring, biomass assessment, cell counting, viability assessment and long-term maintenance.
• Experience with plant cell line selection, cryopreservation or cell banking.
• Practical experience with plant tissue or cell staining, histological/histochemical preparation, or microscopy-based assessment of plant tissues or cultures.
• Experience preparing plant tissue or cell culture samples for downstream molecular, biochemical, phenotypic or metabolic analysis.
• Experience using routine plant tissue or cell culture equipment, such as laminar-flow cabinets, growth chambers, orbital shakers and microscopes.
• Experience using ELN/LIMS, sample inventory systems, documented quality-controlled workflows, QMS, GLP-like standards, GMO regulations or plant quarantine procedures. 

Benefits

Our Benefits:

• Salary dependent on experience + travel allowance + bonus

• Enhanced holiday. Our annual leave allowance is 25 days plus 8 bank holidays and an additional 3 days between Christmas and New Year. You will also have the opportunity to purchase an additional 5 days annual leave in January and July.
• Pension - Employer contribution 7.5%, minimum employee contribution 5%
• Life Assurance.
• Income Protection
• Private Medical Insurance as standard for you, your partner and any dependents. Including hospital Cash Plan
• Employee discounts
• Electric car scheme
• Nursery Salary Sacrifice scheme
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Family Planning
• Neurodiversity support including advise and assessments
• Coaching & Therapy services

Working Together – What It Involves:

• This is a full-time, primarily laboratory-based role requiring regular on-site work to support plant tissue and cell culture workflows, laboratory operations and time-sensitive experimental activities.
• You must be eligible to work in the UK with a willingness to travel as necessary. 
• You must be based in, or within easy commuting distance of, Oxford. 
• During peak periods, some longer hours may be required and some working across multiple time zones due to the global nature of the programme.