Flow Cytometry Technician - Cambridge, United Kingdom - University of Cambridge

Description

We are seeking a Flow Cytometry Technician for the School of the Biological Sciences Flow Cytometry Facility, housed in the Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge.

The Flow Cytometry Facility comprises three rooms within the Department of Pathology on Tennis Court Road in central Cambridge and currently includes five analysers (two Cytek Aurora, Thermo Fisher Attune NxT, Beckman Coulter CytoFLEX LX, and CytoFLEX S) and three cell sorters (BD FACSDiscover S8, BD FACSAria III, and BD FACSAria IIu). The FACSDiscover S8 is the first imaging-enabled spectral cell sorter in the market and the first installed in Cambridgeshire, expanding the power of cell analysis and sorting to new dimensions by combining full spectral flow cytometry with real-time spatial and morphological insights.

The postholder will ideally have experience operating both cell sorters and analysers, but training will be provided in-house and externally. The postholder will be attending the 4-day FACSDiscover S8 Cell Sorter operator course in Belgium at BD's European headquarters.

This course is designed for new operators who want to learn about the imaging cell sorter and includes theoretical explanations of the BD CellView Image Technology, BD SpectralFX Technology and sorting with hands-on practical exercises. Additionally, interaction with BD Research Cloud and FlowJo software will be demonstrated.

In addition to the Department of Pathology, users from the Departments of Biochemistry, Genetics, Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, Chemistry, Plant Sciences, and the Gurdon Institute use this central core facility.

Benefits include the opportunity to work with world-leading scientists at the University of Cambridge and to help the Facility thrive and grow to meet the demand for its services.

Job description

• The postholder will operate the cell sorters on behalf of the end users after appropriate training.
• Equipment maintenance to ensure all machines are available and functioning including running QC procedures.
• Routine maintenance of the flow facility. The postholder will help in the weekly instrument cleaning rota and maintenance.
• Be able to troubleshoot instruments. The postholder is expected to help users who encounter any problems while running their experiments.
• Depending on experience, the postholder may be required to train new users who request access to the analysers.
• Working with the flow cytometry community within the Research Campus including collaborating with research groups and companies.

Selection Criteria

Essential

• College or University Degree in Biological science or other relevant experience.
• Ability to work independently and communicate effectively with end users.
• Ability to learn on the job and to organise the day-to-day calendar to ensure that experiments run on time.
• Ability to work in a Biosafety Level 2 lab.

Desirable

• Previous experience working with flow cytometry (either as a research scientist or as a facility assistant)

The postholder will report to the Head of the Immunology Division (Professor Klaus Okkenhaug).

Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for 12 months in the first instance.

Interviews are expected to take place on 15th July 2024

Applications are welcome from internal candidates who would like to apply for the role on the basis of a secondment from their current role in the University.

The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.

The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.