Senior Scientist, Chip Development (12-Month Maternity Cover) | Oxford Nanopore Technologies
This is a 12-month maternity cover opportunity within our Chip Development team, offering the chance to work on cutting-edge science and contribute directly to the advancement of Oxford Nanopore's sequencing platforms.
We are seeking a Senior Scientist with expertise in surface science, biophysics, materials chemistry, or physical chemistry of interfaces to support the continuous innovation of the membrane and sensor chip chemistry that sits at the core of our technology.
This is a highly collaborative, laboratory-based role where you will work alongside multidisciplinary teams to solve complex scientific challenges, develop novel approaches, and contribute to technologies that are transforming genomics and molecular sensing.
Please note: this is a full time on site role based at the Oxford Science Park.
The Role
Key responsibilities include:
- Characterising and modifying surfaces and interfaces to drive improvements and innovation of our proprietary sensor chip technology
- Researching and developing novel membrane formulations
- Supporting electrophysiology-based experiments
- Designing experiments, analysing data, and communicating findings to a variety of stakeholders
- Collaborating across R&D teams to advance platform chemistry and support intellectual property generation
- Transferring processes and documentation to wider teams across the business
- Contributing to multiple projects while maintaining high scientific and laboratory safety standards
What We're Looking For
- PhD in Surface Science, Biophysics, Materials Chemistry, Physical Chemistry, or a related scientific discipline
- Postdoctoral and/or relevant industry experience with a strong scientific track record demonstrated through publications, patents, or other research outputs
- Strong practical and theoretical understanding of membrane science, surface modification, and selective wetting/de-wetting
- Experience using surface and interface characterisation techniques
- Proven experimental design and data analysis capabilities
- Excellent communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills
Desirable Experience
- Experience working with biological molecules such as DNA or proteins
- Previous project management experience
- Experience balancing multiple scientific projects simultaneously
About You
You are a curious and motivated scientist who enjoys solving challenging problems and translating scientific ideas into practical solutions. You thrive in fast-paced environments, are highly organised, adaptable, and capable of managing multiple priorities. You enjoy collaborating with others, communicating scientific findings clearly, and contributing to innovative research that delivers real-world impact.
This role would suit someone who is passionate about science, excited by interdisciplinary research, and eager to contribute to technology that is redefining what is possible in genomics.
Interested in learning more? We'd love to hear from you.
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
- PhD in Surface Science, Biophysics, Materials Chemistry, Physical Chemistry, or a related scientific discipline
- Postdoctoral and/or relevant industry experience
- Strong scientific track record demonstrated through publications, patents, or other research outputs
- Practical and theoretical understanding of membrane science, surface modification, and selective wetting/de-wetting
- Experience using surface and interface characterization techniques
- Experimental design and data analysis capabilities
- Excellent communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills
- Experience working with biological molecules such as DNA or proteins
- Previous project management experience
- Experience balancing multiple scientific projects simultaneously
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.
