Senior Scientist/Engineer – Instrumentation Development (Physics and Engineering Group)

Sphere Fluidics Limited is an established Life Sciences company, which has developed a new technology platform for single cell analysis and characterisation. Due to company growth, we are now looking for a talented individual to join our instrumentation development team.

We currently have a superb opportunity for an experienced Scientist/Engineer, with more than 5 years of post-doctoral experience, to join our growing R&D team to assist in the development of cutting-edge instrumentation. The candidate will have a PhD (or equivalent technical background) in engineering, physics or a related area. Experience in design and development of optical instrumentation and microfluidic devices is essential. Skills in integration of mechanics, optics, electronic with software into such systems as well as working on system development projects are essential. A candidate with a proven industrial record and hands on approach to product development is preferred. 

Salary range: £35,000-£45,000 per annum.

To meet the requirements of this role you will have:

• A PhD in physics or an engineering discipline;
• Experience with optical design and construction of optical systems (3-5 years min.);
• Strong software programming skills for instrumentation control and data capture (e.g. LabVIEW);
• Experience with CAD design software (e.g. SolidWorks);
• Very good knowledge and experience of microfluidic fabrication and testing;
• An understanding of electronics and interfacing software with various sensors and actuators;
• A background or experience in instrumentation system design;
• Able to work as part of a small team to fast timescales and with strict attention to detail;
• Expertise in producing documentation to support the design and development process;
• Excellent problem solving ability;
• A positive energetic and self-motivated character;
• Excellent verbal, documentation and communications skills;
In addition, experience of the following would be advantageous:
• Experience with simulation and modelling of optical systems and microfluidic devices (e.g. COMSOL);
• Industrial product development;
• Some basic knowledge of cell and/or molecular biology;
• Experience in developing real time embedded software (e.g.FPGA, RTOS);
• Programming experience using C/C++, C#/.NET, Virtual Basic,etc.;
• Experience of the full product life-cycle – design, implementation, test and support.

The successful candidate will work in a multi-disciplinary team and should be enthusiastic with excellent team-working and communication skills. If interested, please e-mail your CV todavid.holmes@spherefluidics.com and include the title of your target position e.g. “Senior Scientist/Engineer” in the title.

All Sphere Fluidics employees are given an employment package including: competitive salary; annual, performance-related bonus; employee share options; life insurance and a Stakeholder Pension Scheme. Each employee is also encouraged to develop an annual development plan, including SMART objectives and training needs, as part of their career development. The position will be based in or around Cambridge, UK.

The closing date for application for this position is 22nd of May 2014.