Nutritional Biochemist

About UsWe are a team of passionate individuals from 15 countries, developing ground-breaking biological technologies designed to sustainably, and safely, control arthropods that transmit diseases and destroy crops. We do this work to improve lives and livelihoods around the world in the face of the growing threats that arthropods pose to human health and the global food supply.Whilst what we do relates to developing insect control technologies, our organisation is about people and in its service to people.We are strongly committed to a set of values and principles and foster a culture of trust, respect, creativity, and accountability. Click here to read about our principles, and click here to read our CEO’s blog on trust and our corporate culture.Purpose of the JobAs a Nutritional Biochemist at Oxitec, you will join a dynamic project dedicated to the research and development of our self-limiting technology in haematophagous insects. You will be a technical expert based at our UK headquarters in Milton Park, Abingdon, where you will be a self-starter working as part of a growing team to deliver project goals. Your primary focus will be to develop nutrition solutions for our insect rearing programmes. Your work will support the team in rearing high-quality insects in scalable, cost effective, and ethical processes. Through designing, performing, and analysing experiments, you will work alongside a multidisciplinary team to steer research and support decision making by giving expertise on insect diet and nutrition as well as the underlying biochemistry. You will take a hands-on approach to generating and interpreting data, working closely with the rearing team, as well as our engineering department, to test, improve, and validate new rearing systems. You will show strong organisational skills, and demonstrate original thinking and attention to detail. Excellent communication skills and an enthusiasm for Oxitec’s mission will be essential.  ResponsibilitiesYour key responsibilities will involve developing novel and bespoke diets for artificial tick rearing. Working under the guidance of a Team Lead you will be responsible for: Utilise nutritional/biochemistry expertise to solve complex entomology challenges.Prepare project plans, design experiments, and analyse data to evaluate existing and new insect diets in line with project objectives.Provide clear communication regarding outcomes of processes, experiments, and planning with the Team Lead and wider project stakeholders.Work as part of the rearing team to test novel diets and their impacts on large scale rearing.Work closely alongside the engineering team to allow rapid feedback on their designs and prototypes.Integrate effectively into a growing team in a fast-paced and dynamic project.Review scientific literature and concisely summarise findings for the wider team.Offer expert guidance to assist wider company projects and challenges.Report data in meetings, to audiences with various technical backgrounds, and write clear and concise reports for internal and external review.Have a clear understanding of the commercial impact of the work and responsibilities and strive to optimise performance.Support the team’s compliance to established procedures, regulations and health and safety.Provide occasional weekend support as part of a rota within the R&D team. Skills, Experience, and Education RequirementsAn MSc or PhD in a relevant discipline (e.g. nutritional science, biochemistry, chemistry) or associated industry experience is essential.Experience with developing nutritionally complete diets for animals or insects is highly desirable.  Experience with animal husbandry and/or colonies of invertebrates is desirable.Excellent written and oral communication is essential to communicate with a wide variety of stakeholders including junior and senior staff members.    Track record of scientific diligence including valuing careful generation and recording of data.Strong attention to detail, with excellent timekeeping standards and responsiveness. Behavioural RequirementsCommitted to and passionate about the Oxitec mission and values.Diligent and organised.Comfortable working independently and within a team.Adaptable and flexible, thriving and being resilient in an environment of change and ambiguity.Responsive to the needs of an international business working across different time zones, adapting working patterns in-line with business requirements.Decisive and assertive with a driven and proactive approach.Positive, humble, co-operative and professional.Works with a sense of urgency and solves things promptly.Resilient and persistent in an innovative and constantly changing environment.Empathetic, with the ability to build effective relationships quickly.A team player who believes the success of us all depends on us working together.