King's College London

THIS VACANCY IS OPEN TO INTERNAL APPLICANTS ONLY

About Us

About PharosAI

PharosAI offers a unique cancer AI product development ecosystem for drug discovery and clinical applications, democratising access to data, AI assets, technologies, and capabilities. PharosAI unites large-scale multimodal cancer datasets with AI models through a highly-secure, trusted, federated platform, offering state-of-the-art AI tooling for use by pharma/biotech/life-sciences, AI-pharma, and AI developers of clinical applications, in enterprises, growth companies, and research organisations. PharosAI will also provide a “lend me an expert” concierge service, training and education in AI for clinicians, and an end-to-end product development and deployment service, helping cancer pathology services to be more easily deployed within the NHS. This will be facilitated by a best-in-class patient involvement and governance model, and fair value sharing for data providers.

PharosAI will revolutionise AI-powered cancer care, driving breakthrough therapies, clinical applications, addressing cancer’s social determinants, lowering barriers to UK SMEs, catalysing innovation and positioning the UK as a global leader in this dynamic ecosystem.

About The Role

Overview of the post The Spatial Transcriptomics Technical Manager is responsible for the daily operations and management of the spatial transcriptomics analyses using several high throughout ’omics workflows, ensuring the efficient wet-lab execution of large-scale genomic, transcriptomic, spatial transcriptomics and proteomic approaches. The post holder oversees the laboratory operations, coordinating research projects with several in-house and external stakeholders, maintaining instrumentation, and ensuring data quality and compliance with regulatory standards.

The post requires expertise in molecular biology techniques (e.g., PCR, qPCR and probe-based hybridisation techniques), tissue handling and staining, extraction of nucleic acids from FF and FFPE samples, use of slide scanners for high resolution imaging and laboratory management. The post holder is responsible for developing and optimising protocols for large scale data generation and processing. They work with researchers to design and execute large scale experiments using ’omics technologies, providing technical expertise and guidance on sample preparation, sequencing and analyses. They are responsible for data quality and reproducibility.

The post holder will have strong project and financial management skills to deliver data and projects by the specified deadlines and in budget. They will be responsible for procuring consumables and instrumentation, identifying and accessing funding opportunities and negotiating with suppliers to ensure value for money. They will maintain an inventory of supplies.

The work is undertaken within a highly regulated environment, and the post holder is responsible for compliance with institutional, national and international regulatory guidelines, including good laboratory practice, biosafety and hazard waste management, sample storage and tracking. Robust documentation, including the consistent use of labelling of samples and suitable storage arrangements, and standard operating procedures are required in this context; the post holder is responsible for putting these in place. The post holder works closely with the biobank and bioinformatics teams to ensure efficient data processing, storage and analysis. Compliance with data security protocols is a critical responsibility of the post holder.

This is a full time and you will be offered a fixed term contract until 31.07.27.

About You

To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience: 

Essential criteria

1. Level 6 qualification, e.g., relevant undergraduate degree or equivalent, plus substantial work experience in relevant technical/scientific service posts OR Extensive work experience in relevant technical/ scientific posts with management experience and/or qualification. 
2. Evidence of an active commitment to professional development, such as working towards CSci and clear progression in increasingly demanding jobs. 
3. Comprehensive technical experience and knowledge of a range of scientific procedures and the underpinning scientific theory applicable to the work area and their environmental impact, including laboratory management, spatial transcriptomics workflow, sample handling and storage to maintain integrity and traceability, large-scale data acquisition, nucleic acid extraction. 
4. Excellent spoken and written communication skills, with advanced computer use and strong interpersonal and influencing/behavioural skills to build a strong network to support the delivery of the service. Solutions-focused self-starter, with excellent planning and analytical skills, able to manage staff and facilities, setting performance standards, and establishing protocols to deliver these. 
5. Comprehensive knowledge of regulations and best practice governing area of work, including Health & Safety, Human Tissue Act, and environmental sustainability. 
6. Knowledge of environmental impacts of laboratory work and an interest in reducing the negative impacts. 

Desirable criteria

1. Formal Health & Safety qualification e.g., NEBOSH/IOSH 
2. Experience of supervising/advising junior team members, giving feedback on performance levels and providing training/coaching where necessary. 
3. Able and willing to provide support beyond core hours, as required. 
4. Knowledge and practical experience of data security, backup and compliance with data sharing policies. 

Downloading a copy of our Job Description 

Full details of the role and the skills, knowledge and experience required can be found in the Job Description document, provided at the bottom of the next page after you click “Apply Now”. This document will provide information of what criteria will be assessed at each stage of the recruitment process. 

Further Information

We pride ourselves on being inclusive and welcoming. We embrace diversity and want everyone to feel that they belong and are connected to others in our community. We are committed to working with our staff and unions on these and other issues, to continue to support our people and to develop a diverse and inclusive culture at King's. We ask all candidates to submit a copy of their CV, and a supporting statement, detailing how they meet the essential criteria listed in the advert.

If we receive a strong field of candidates, we may use the desirable criteria to choose our final shortlist, so please include your evidence against these where possible. 

To find out how our managers will review your application, please take a look at our ‘How we Recruit’ pages.