Technical Specialist

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Salary: £31,236 to £32,080 with progression to £34,610 per annum

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 30 January 2026

You will be part of a multidisciplinary team that includes biologists, structural biologists and chemists that aims to identify new therapeutic approaches to treat cancer. You will join the Cancer Research Horizons Therapeutic Innovation Newcastle Drug Discovery Group that is based in the Faculty of Medical Sciences.

You can find out more about our research on our dedicated web pages:  and  You will report to Professor Jane Endicott, Professor Martin Noble and the Institute Technical Manager. You will provide specialised technical support for protein expression, purification, characterisation, crystallisation and structure determination to a group using structural and chemical biology to understand the roles and mechanisms of diverse proteins to support drug discovery.

An in‑depth knowledge of technical or scientific practices, methods and procedures gained through experience and/or formal qualification will enable you to provide a range of technical support activities. You must be reliable, flexible and able to work well, both unsupervised and in an interdisciplinary team. Working as part of a professional community you will provide a technical support service to staff and students by mainly following established working patterns, resolving most challenges without reference to more senior colleagues.

Up to two positions funded by Cancer Research UK are available immediately and on a fixed term basis until 25/10/2027.

Please note that if you are successful to this role, you will require medical clearance before you can commence in the role

• To be responsible for developing new protocols, under academic direction and following independent literature review
• To regularly consult with academic staff regarding developing new or improved methods for experimental systems
• To contribute to the structural biology programme and to be responsible, following consultation with academic staff, for (i) recombinant expression of proteins in insect and bacterial cells; (ii) protein characterization and assay development; (iii) protein crystallization
• Liaise with bioscience and chemistry colleagues to identify and optimise opportunities for further collaboration
• To contribute to laboratory meetings e.g. problem solving, internal seminars, journal club
• Complete a range of routine and complex maintenance activities and repairs
• Liaise with suppliers and manufacturers to resolve both routine and complex problems and investigate replacement options
• Advise on equipment capabilities demonstrating how results can be achieved
• By developing local procedures, establish and maintain a safe/compliant working environment
• Hold specific safety responsibilities relevant to the specialism
• Oversee compliance tasks ensuring timely completion and maintenance of appropriate records
• Maintain in‑depth and up‑to‑date health and safety knowledge relevant to the specialism. Assist with the completion and updating of a wide range of safety paperwork
• Schedule, prioritize and monitor work in line with demands and deadlines
• Hold delegated responsibility from the academic lead for the planning, operation and supervision of laboratory spaces occupied by the specialism
• Be a key contributor to specialism development, delivery and planning
• Contribute to and support change
• Manage one or more budgets monitoring resource usage
• Source and negotiate with suppliers for a range of items including specialist parts/equipment
• Create, update and implement procedures to deliver an aligned, efficient and effective service
• Prepare and manufacture specimens/samples requiring specialist skills with limited direction
• Manage equipment bookings, calculate charges/costs and assist with re‑charging
• Design, develop and deliver inductions, demonstrations and training covering complex techniques and…