King's College London

About us:

The Centre for Developmental Neurobiology (CDN) focuses on deciphering how neural circuits assemble during development, from neural patterning to synapse formation and plasticity, and how disruption of this process leads to disease. The research in the Centre is based on a variety of model systems, including human in vitro approaches, and is generally structured around three main programmes: Building brains, Circuit Assembly, and Neurodevelopmental Disorders.

CDN is one of four departments in the School of Neuroscience at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience and is located at Guy’s campus. Researchers have access to core facilities providing dedicated support in genotyping, histology, viral production, cell and tissue cultures, bioinformatics, microscopy and image analysis. The department partners with Medical Research Council (MRC) to make up the world-leading MRC Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders.

About the role:

We are seeking a motivated and organised technician to support the day-to-day operation of the CDN Fly Facility, providing essential support to Drosophila research groups across the Health Schools at Guy’s Campus and other King's College London locations as required.

The successful candidate will be responsible for preparing and supplying Drosophila media and reagents, managing consumables and stock levels, maintaining facility equipment, and ensuring accurate record keeping to support the smooth running of the facility.

Working closely with the Technical Managers (Facilities and Health & Safety/Operations) and a team of technicians, the post holder will contribute to a comprehensive technical support service across the Centre for Developmental Neurobiology. In addition to supporting the Fly Facility, the role will provide wider technical and operational support across the Centre, including laboratory operations, equipment maintenance, waste management, Health & Safety compliance, sustainability initiatives, safety inductions, and research support activities.

The role also offers an exciting opportunity to contribute to the Centre’s sustainability programme, supporting environmental accreditation schemes and award submissions. The post holder will undertake designated Health & Safety responsibilities, including supporting safety inductions, acting as a Manual Handling Assessor and Mental Health First Aider, and promoting a positive culture of safe working throughout the Centre.

This position would suit an enthusiastic individual with excellent organisational skills, a proactive approach to problem solving, and a strong commitment to supporting high-quality research and laboratory operations.

This is a full-time post (35 hours per week), on site, and you will be offered an indefinite contract.

About you:

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

Essential criteria

1. Minimum Level 3 qualification (e.g. A Levels, AS Levels, or an equivalent Level 3 qualification), plus experience in relevant technical or scientific roles; or considerable knowledge and skills gained through work experience in relevant technical or scientific environments.
2. Previous experience working in a laboratory environment, including provision of general laboratory support such as autoclaving, glass washing and waste management.
3. Experience of preparing biological culture media and ensuring consistency.
4. Knowledge of risk assessments, Health & Safety requirements in a laboratory environment, and general laboratory support and organisation.
5. Experience & training in cryogenic and compressed gases.
6. Motivated, hardworking, and adaptable to changing work demands, with the ability to work effectively with colleagues, operate with minimal supervision, and learn new techniques and skills.
7. Computer literate, with proficiency in Microsoft Word and Excel.
8. Reliable and conscientious approach to duties, with willingness to undertake share of group tasks and maintenance of laboratory resources, and work occasionally outside normal working hours

Desirable criteria

1. Interest in sustainability and environmental initiatives within research laboratories.
2. Experience supporting Drosophila research, particularly in media preparation and associated laboratory activities.
3. Commitment to professional development, for example through RSciTech accreditation, and a willingness to learn new techniques.
4. Experience maintaining laboratory records, databases, or stock management systems
5. Experience of managing multiple tasks concurrently

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 page. This document will provide information of what criteria will be assessed at each stage of the recruitment process.

Further Information 

At King’s, we believe that the diversity of our community and a culture that is welcoming, open, inclusive and collaborative, are great strengths of the university.

The Equality Act of 2010 protects the rights of our students and staff and provides a framework to fulfil our duties to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and in addition, to advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between those who share a protected characteristic and those who do not. At times, this will include balancing rights and beliefs that can feel in tension.

We are committed to free speech and to academic freedom, believing that our foundational purpose as a university, is to create spaces where a wide range of ideas, including ideas that are controversial, can be discussed and debated, and where members of our community can express lawful views without fear of intimidation, harassment or discrimination.

When engaging in the robust exchange of ideas, we ask that our community is mindful of our Dignity at King’s guidance.

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 person specification section of the job description. 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.

We reserve the right to close adverts early due to the volume of applications we receive. While the closing date may change, all adverts will close at 23:59 to allow sufficient time for applications to be submitted on that day.

We encourage you to apply at the earliest opportunity to avoid disappointment as once we have closed a vacancy you will be unable to submit your application.

To find out how our managers will review your application, please take a look at our ‘How we Recruit’ pages. Interviews are due to be held on week of 19th October 2026.

This post is subject to Occupational Health clearances.