Senior Electronics R&D Engineer - Pathogen

At the Ellison Institute of Technology (EIT), we’re on a mission to translate scientific discovery into real world impact. We bring together visionary scientists, technologists, engineers, researchers, educators and innovators to tackle humanity’s greatest challenges in four transformative areas:

• Health, Medical Science & Generative Biology
• Food Security & Sustainable Agriculture
• Climate Change & Managing CO₂
• Artificial Intelligence & Robotics

This is ambitious work - work that demands curiosity, courage, and a relentless drive to make a difference. At EIT, you’ll join a community built on excellence, innovation, tenacity, trust, and collaboration, where bold ideas become real-world breakthroughs. Together, we push boundaries, embrace complexity, and create solutions to scale ideas from lab to society. Explore more at .

Welcome to the Pathogen Program

Within this ecosystem, the Pathogen Mission exemplifies EIT’s commitment to transformative science. It aims to revolutionise the diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases by leveraging whole genome sequencing (WGS)-based metagenomic and pathogen-specific analytical tools. This remit includes the development of a decentralised, sample-to-answer sequencing diagnostic platform for infectious diseases, enabling rapid and accurate analysis of patient samples without prior assumptions. Supported by Oracle Inc.’s cloud-computing scale and security infrastructure, the Pathogen Mission is progressing towards certified diagnostic products for deployment in laboratories, hospitals, and public health organisations worldwide.

Your Role

We are seeking an experienced and innovative Senior Electronics R&D Engineer to develop advanced electronic interfaces, instrumentation, and measurement systems for next-generation nanopore sequencing technologies.

This is a hands-on role within an ambitious early-stage development programme, taking technologies from proof of concept through to integrated, multi-channel sensing systems. Working closely with a Senior MEMS Development Engineer, you will design, build, and test experimental electronics, develop custom instrumentation, and optimise prototype devices through iterative development.

Key areas of focus include precision analogue measurement, low-noise circuit design, multi-channel data acquisition, electronic control systems, and system integration. You will translate emerging concepts into working prototypes, identify technical limitations, and drive continuous improvement based on experimental data.

The role also involves collaborating with external suppliers and technical partners, defining requirements, overseeing outsourced development, and evaluating resulting components and systems. As the programme grows, you will help establish the electrical engineering capabilities, testing infrastructure, and technical foundations needed to support a multidisciplinary development team.

Key Responsibilities

• Take technical ownership of the electrical engineering development of advanced electronic interfaces and measurement systems, from early concepts through to functional prototypes and integrated devices.
• Design, build and commission custom electronic test equipment and experimental platforms to characterise electrical performance, reliability and repeatability.
• Develop prototype electronic circuits and sensing architectures, including multi-channel analogue measurement systems, signal conditioning and data-acquisition electronics.
• Work closely with the Senior MEMS Development Engineer to co-develop and evaluate prototype devices, using experimental findings to guide iterative improvements in device and instrumentation design.
• Design and implement sensitive, low-noise measurement systems capable of characterising electrical currents in the picoampere range.
• Develop automated testing and data-acquisition methods to assess electrical and sensing performance, including software for instrument control and data analysis.
• Investigate electrical noise, leakage currents, signal integrity, parasitic effects and cross-talk in multi-channel sensing systems.
• Develop and evaluate approaches to electrical grounding, shielding and electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection for sensitive electronic and electrochemical systems.
• Collaborate with mechanical, MEMS and other engineering disciplines to develop experimental fixtures, prototype assemblies and integrated test platforms.
• Design increasingly sophisticated electronic test platforms as the project progresses, supporting the transition from initial feasibility studies to integrated nanopore sensing systems.
• Define technical requirements and specifications for external engineering suppliers, including the design and fabrication of custom electronics, components and specialist test equipment.
• Coordinate technical activities with external suppliers and collaborators, reviewing designs, monitoring progress and evaluating deliverables against agreed performance requirements.
• Plan and execute structured experiments, analyse performance data and translate findings into engineering requirements and design improvements.
• Contribute to component selection, prototype fabrication, supplier engagement and assessments of manufacturability, scalability and cost.
• Maintain clear technical documentation, design records and experimental results, contributing to intellectual property development and technical reviews while ensuring appropriate confidentiality.
• Provide technical guidance and mentoring as the engineering team expands, helping establish robust engineering practices and development processes.

Requirements

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

We welcome applicants from industry, applied research and academia who can demonstrate strong technical expertise and practical engineering capability.

• Degree in Electrical or Electronic Engineering, Physics or a related discipline, or equivalent relevant experience.
• Significant experience in electronic engineering research and development, ideally involving novel instrumentation, sensor systems or precision measurement technologies.
• Strong understanding of analogue and mixed-signal electronics, including low-noise circuit design, signal conditioning and measurement techniques.
• Proven experience designing, building and debugging electronic hardware, including custom circuits, printed circuit boards and laboratory test systems.
• Practical experience developing experimental instrumentation using laboratory equipment such as oscilloscopes, source-measure units, precision current measurement systems and data-acquisition hardware.
• Experience developing or integrating electronic control, switching or multi-channel measurement systems.
• Ability to develop automated test methods, including scripting or programming for instrument control, data acquisition and analysis.
• Experience planning and executing structured experimental programmes to characterise complex electronic systems and resolve technical challenges.
• Strong understanding of electrical signal integrity, grounding, shielding and methods for minimising noise and interference.
• Ability to work independently, establish technical direction and deliver working prototypes in an early-stage R&D environment.
• Experience collaborating with multidisciplinary teams and translating requirements between electronics, mechanical engineering and device fabrication.
• Ability to develop clear technical specifications and work effectively with external engineering suppliers, development partners or specialist fabricators.

Desirable Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Experience with picoampere or similarly sensitive current measurements, including transimpedance amplifiers, leakage-current management and low-noise analogue front-end design.
• Knowledge of electrochemical sensing, biosensors, nanopore technologies or other low-current sensor systems.
• Experience with semiconductor devices, MEMS interfaces, microelectronic packaging or electronic sensor integration.
• Familiarity with ASIC interfaces, FPGA-based control, electronic multiplexing or multi-channel sensor-readout architectures.
• Experience developing test equipment for evaluating the electrical performance and reliability of prototype devices.
• Knowledge of ESD protection strategies for sensitive electronic devices or electrochemical sensors.
• Experience with Python, LabVIEW or similar tools for automated test equipment, instrument control and data analysis.
• Familiarity with precision PCB design techniques, guarding, shielding and control of parasitic capacitance.
• Experience integrating prototype electronics with microfabricated devices, fluidic systems or other multidisciplinary hardware.
• Experience working with external engineering companies or specialist suppliers to develop, fabricate and qualify custom components or instrumentation.
• Understanding of design for manufacture, engineering reliability and transitioning prototype systems towards scalable production.

Key Attributes

• Hands-on and inventive: Enjoys solving technical challenges through practical engineering, experimentation and rapid prototyping.
• Comfortable with early-stage R&D: Able to work effectively where solutions are not yet established and technical requirements evolve through experimentation.
• Analytical and systematic: Uses sound engineering judgement and quantitative evidence to understand complex behaviour and guide design decisions.
• Collaborative: Works closely with specialists in MEMS, mechanical engineering, chemistry and electronics, as well as external technical partners, to develop integrated solutions.
• Independent and proactive: Can establish experimental capabilities, identify priorities and progress technical work with limited existing infrastructure.
• Technically ambitious: Motivated by challenging engineering problems and developing technologies with the potential for substantial real-world impact.
• Clear communicator: Able to explain complex technical challenges, document findings and communicate requirements effectively with colleagues, suppliers and external collaborators.

Benefits

Our Benefits:

• Salary: Competitive + travel allowance + bonus
• Enhanced holiday pay
• Pension
• Life Assurance
• Income Protection
• Private Medical Insurance
• Hospital Cash Plan
• Therapy Services
• Perk Box
• Electric Car Scheme

Working Together – What It Involves:

• You must have the right to work permanently in the UK with a willingness to travel as necessary. In certain cases, we can consider sponsorship, and this will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
•  You will live in, or within easy commuting distance of, Oxford (or be willing to relocate).
• You must be eligible to work in the UK with occasional travel (1-3 trips per year).