Post Doctoral Research Associate - OpenBind

About Us

Diamond Light Source is the UK’s national synchrotron science facility. By accelerating electrons to near light-speed, Diamond generates brilliant beams of light from infra-red to X-rays which are used for academic and industry research and development across a range of scientific disciplines including structural biology, physics, chemistry, materials science, engineering, earth and environmental sciences.

About the Role

In June 2025, the UK’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) announced an £8 million investment through its Sovereign AI Unit to establish the OpenBind Consortium -a pioneering initiative hosted at Diamond Light Source to revolutionize AI-driven drug discovery. OpenBind will generate the world’s largest open dataset of protein-ligand crystal structures paired with affinity measurements, targeting over 500,000 datasets in five years - a twenty-fold increase over all publicly available data generated in the past half-century. 

This landmark dataset will address a critical bottleneck in pharmaceutical R&D: the scarcity of large-scale, high-quality data linking small molecules to their protein targets. By integrating automated chemistry, protein engineering, high-throughput crystallography, and cutting-edge AI/ML models, OpenBind aims to unlock a new era of generative drug design - enabling breakthroughs in previously intractable diseases and dramatically reducing the cost and timeline of drug development. 

We are seeking talented and driven scientists to join the OpenBind team at Diamond Light Source. Appointees will contribute to the ultra-high-throughput generation and dissemination of protein–ligand crystal structures and affinity data, and help develop new methodologies to scale and optimize these workflows. Successful candidates will collaborate closely with an international consortium of leading researchers to design computation-first experiments guided by machine learning.

Appointees will: 

• Integrate fully into the culture of both the Diamond-based research team and the wider OpenBind Consortium. 
• Deliver ultra-high-throughput protein–ligand crystal structures and ensure rapid, high-quality dissemination of data. 
• Develop and implement new methodologies to scale and optimize high-throughput crystallographic workflows for AI-readiness. 
• Ensure structural outputs are suitable for training and benchmarking ML models. 
• Contribute to the execution of the research proposal as detailed in the Job Description appendix. 
• Participate in internal scientific and administrative meetings with consortium collaborators. 
• Lead or contribute to the analysis and publication of results in international peer-reviewed journals. 

About You

You will hold a relevant PhD and demonstrate proven scientific and technical experience. You should be rigorous, collaborative, and adaptable, with excellent communication and organizational skills. First-hand experience in high-throughput crystallography and AI/ML integration is highly desirable. 

You will likely have: 

• A strong interest in accelerating drug discovery through the generation of massive, high-quality protein-ligand structure and affinity datasets. 
• Experience in high-throughput and automated crystallography platforms. 
• A proactive approach to developing and optimizing scalable methodologies. 
• Excellent organizational skills, time management, and record keeping. 
• Enthusiasm for working in multidisciplinary scientific teams and large-scale collaborations.

Benefits

Diamond offers an exceptional benefits package to support staff in achieving a positive work/life balance. This includes 26 days annual leave plus Christmas closure, public holidays, 2 annual volunteering days and flexible working hours. We also offer an excellent defined benefit pension scheme. Staff also have access to a range of amenities on site including a nursery, cafes, a restaurant and sports and leisure facilities. A relocation allowance may also be available where applicable.

To Apply

Please use online application process to apply and tell us why you believe you are suitable for this role.

Closing date: 23rd September 2025

Interviews scheduled:29th September 2025

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