Sales Development Representative (SDR) – 6-Month Contract (Temporary Position)
Oxford Science Park - Hybrid Working
About Us
Oxford Nanopore Technologies is headquartered at the Oxford Science Park outside Oxford, UK, with satellite offices and commercial operations across the Americas, APAC and Europe. We employ experts across a range of disciplines including nanopore science, molecular biology, bioinformatics, engineering, manufacturing and commercialisation.
Our mission is to enable the analysis of any living thing, by anyone, anywhere. Oxford Nanopore's sequencing platform is the only technology that offers real-time analysis in fully scalable formats, from pocket-sized devices to population-scale solutions, enabling native DNA and RNA sequencing across a broad range of applications.
The Opportunity
We are looking for a proactive and motivated Sales Development Representative (SDR) to join our Commercial team on a 6-month temporary contract.
This role plays a key part in supporting sales growth through lead qualification, customer engagement, prospecting activities and channel partner support. Working closely with sales, marketing and customer-facing teams, you will help drive commercial opportunities while developing a strong understanding of Oxford Nanopore's products, technologies and customer base.
This position would suit someone with a scientific background who enjoys customer interaction, commercial activities and working in a fast-paced, collaborative environment.
Key Responsibilities
- Manage and maintain sales funnel activities within Salesforce (SFDC), ensuring accurate and timely data management.
- Qualify and follow up inbound and outbound customer enquiries.
- Plan and execute structured prospecting activities to identify new business opportunities.
- Manage event-generated leads and ensure timely follow-up and progression.
- Support Service Level Device Warranty (SLDW) renewals using SFDC and IronClad.
- Build strong relationships with assigned channel partners and provide commercial support to help drive sales growth.
- Develop strong knowledge of Oxford Nanopore products, technologies and market applications.
- Collaborate closely with internal stakeholders to ensure an excellent customer experience.
- Support commercial campaigns and other sales activities as required.
What We're Looking For
Essential
- BSc degree, preferably in Life Sciences, Genetics, Genomics or a related discipline.
- Previous sales experience or experience supporting sales activities and customer engagement.
- Experience using CRM systems.
- Strong verbal and written communication skills.
- Ability to work independently and proactively manage priorities.
- Strong organisational skills and attention to detail.
- Positive, customer-focused approach with a collaborative mindset.
- Fluent English language skills.
Desirable
- MSc, PhD or other postgraduate qualification in a relevant scientific discipline.
- Experience working with life science, biotechnology or research customers.
- Experience working within a global or matrix organisation.
- Knowledge of genomics and DNA sequencing technologies.
- Understanding of long-read sequencing and its applications.
- Experience with sales or marketing campaigns.
- Experience supporting channel partner networks.
- Additional language skills.
- Experience using scientific databases such as PubMed or ResearchGate.
Personal Attributes
- Positive and enthusiastic attitude.
- Self-motivated and able to work autonomously.
- Strong judgement and problem-solving ability.
- Excellent teamwork and relationship-building skills.
- Confidence communicating with a wide range of stakeholders.
- A passion for innovation and helping customers adopt new technologies.
Why Join Oxford Nanopore?
This is an exciting opportunity to gain exposure to a global commercial organisation at the forefront of genomics innovation. You'll work alongside experienced colleagues, develop commercial and customer-facing skills, and contribute to bringing transformative sequencing technology to researchers and customers around the world.
Please note that no terminology in this advert is intended to discriminate on the grounds of a person's gender, marital status, race, religion, colour, age, disability or sexual orientation. Every candidate will be assessed only in accordance with their merits, qualifications and abilities to perform the duties of the job.
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Oxford Nanopore Technologies: Our goal is to bring the widest benefits to society through enabling the analysis of anything, by anyone, anywhere. The company has developed a new generation of nanopore-based sensing technology for faster, information rich, accessible and affordable molecular analysis. The first application is DNA/RNA sequencing, and the technology is in development for the analysis of other types of molecules including proteins. The technology is used to understand and characterise the biology of humans and diseases such as cancer, plants, animals, bacteria, viruses, and whole environments. With a thriving culture of ambition and strong innovation goals, Oxford Nanopore is a UK headquartered company with global operations and customers in more than 125 countries.
Skills Required
- BSc degree, preferably in Life Sciences, Genetics, Genomics, or a related discipline
- Previous sales experience or experience supporting sales activities and customer engagement
- Experience using CRM systems
- Strong verbal and written communication skills
- Ability to work independently and proactively manage priorities
- Strong organisational skills and attention to detail
- Positive, customer-focused approach with a collaborative mindset
- Fluent English language skills
- MSc, PhD, or other postgraduate qualification in a relevant scientific discipline
- Experience working with life science, biotechnology, or research customers
- Experience working within a global or matrix organisation
- Knowledge of genomics and DNA sequencing technologies
- Understanding of long-read sequencing and its applications
- Experience with sales or marketing campaigns
- Experience supporting channel partner networks
- Additional language skills
- Experience using scientific databases such as PubMed or ResearchGate
Oxford Nanopore Technologies Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Oxford Nanopore Technologies and has not been reviewed or approved by Oxford Nanopore Technologies.
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Fair & Transparent Compensation — Pay is considered good to above average across many roles, with employer-provided ranges visible for several U.S. commercial and applications positions and company materials emphasizing market‑competitive base pay. Commercial and some senior technical posts, particularly in the U.S., are positioned as competitive and often paired with strong variable components.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — All‑employee share plans in the UK and a U.S. employee stock purchase plan indicate broad access to equity as part of total reward. Company communications highlight attractive bonus and share plans that add meaningful upside beyond base pay.
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Healthcare Strength — U.S. roles indicate strong health insurance and core protections, while official materials and country overviews reference private medical coverage and wellbeing support. These elements position the health package as a notable strength alongside cash compensation.
Oxford Nanopore Technologies Insights
What We Do
Our goal is to enable the analysis of anything, anywhere, by anyone. We have developed the world’s first and only nanopore DNA and RNA sequencing platform. It’s a new generation of sequencing technology — the only one to offer: scalability to portable or ultra-high throughput formats, real-time data delivery, and the ability to elucidate rich biological data. We are aiming to disrupt the way that biological analyses are currently performed, and open up new applications that have a profound, positive impact on society. Our devices offer real-time analysis, for rapid insights, in fully scalable formats — from pocket to population scale — and the technology is being used in more than 100 countries worldwide. Founded in 2005 as a spin-out from the University of Oxford, the company now employs more than 600 people from multiple disciplines including nanopore science, molecular biology and applications, informatics, engineering, electronics, manufacturing and commercialisation. The management team, led by CEO Dr Gordon Sanghera, has a track record of delivering disruptive technologies to the market.
