Junior Mass Spectrometry Research Officer

Full Time - 35 hours per week.

Open-ended contract - subject to 3-year review

The Opportunity

Our Mass Spectrometry Facility at the Institute of Genetics and Cancer is one of Edinburgh's flagship analytical platforms. We deliver expert-led proteomics, metabolomics, lipidomics and integrated multiomics, including single-cell and spatial workflows from precious, low-input samples, using state-of-the-art high-resolution instrumentation and robotic sample handling. We support researchers at the Institute of Genetics and Cancer, the Cancer Research UK Scotland Centre, and the wider Edinburgh community, alongside academic and industry collaborators across the UK, Europe and beyond. With more than 180 publications and 16,000 citations behind us, including work in Nature, Nature Metabolism, Nature Immunology and Nature Communications, our work helps researchers ask, and answer, questions that would otherwise be out of reach.

As a member of the facility team, you will work across the full biological mass spectrometry workflow, from preparing biological samples and running mass spectrometry analyses to processing data and contributing to bioinformatic interpretation. You will work alongside scientists, students and clinicians on projects spanning cancer biology, immunology, metabolism and beyond, and you will help keep the facility running smoothly through laboratory organisation, stock management, equipment monitoring and quality control. The role is a strong opportunity to broaden your technical range, develop bioinformatics and data analysis skills, and build a network across one of the UK's leading biomedical research environments.

Your skills and attributes for success

Essential

• A degree in a relevant discipline (life sciences, chemistry, biochemistry, analytical science or related), or equivalent professional experience.
• Working knowledge of protein and small-molecule chemistry.
• Working knowledge of mass spectrometry and of liquid chromatography.
• Ability to plan and complete projects to agreed timelines.
• Strong organisational skills, attention to detail, and a commitment to accurate documentation, reproducibility and safe working practices.
• Good interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to support users from a range of backgrounds.

 Desirable

• An MSc in a relevant discipline.
• Hands-on experience of mass spectrometry applied to biological questions.
• Previous experience working in a mass spectrometry facility or shared analytical service.
• Ability to process and interpret proteomic and/or metabolomic data.
• Understanding of labelling methods (for example isotopic labelling) as applied to proteins and small molecules.
• Experience operating and maintaining Orbitrap or timsTOF instruments.
• Experience with bioinformatic and statistical analysis of proteomic, metabolomic or lipidomic data.
• Familiarity with scripting languages (R, Python) or command-line tools for data processing.
• Experience with low-input, single-cell or spatial omics workflows.
• Experience administering facility management systems such as PPMS.

Apply Before: 21/07/2026, 23:59

Advert information