Sr Scientist Full-time

Senior Scientist (Maternity Cover)

What if the work you did every day could impact the lives of people you know? Or all of humanity? At Illumina, we are expanding access to genomic technology to realize health equity for billions of people around the world. Our efforts enable life-changing discoveries that are transforming human health through the early detection and diagnosis of diseases and new treatment options for patients. Working at Illumina means being part of something bigger than yourself. Every person, in every role, has the opportunity to make a difference. Surrounded by extraordinary people, inspiring leaders, and world changing projects, you will do more and become more than you ever thought possible.

Senior Scientist (Maternity Cover) – Cambridge, UK 1 year fixed term contract until July 2027 Onsite Cambridge based role with occasional work from home flexibility

As Senior Scientist here at Illumina in Cambridge, you will join the team within the Applications & Customer Enablement (ACE) team in R&D, where you will play a critical role in the development, optimisation, and support of automated genomics workflows. This role is central to designing, integrating, and testing high quality liquid handling methods, particularly on Hamilton platforms, that underpin Illumina's globally deployed workflow solutions. Acting as a subject matter expert for automation, you will work independently on complex, multidisciplinary challenges while collaborating closely with cross functional partners across hardware, software, and chemistry. In line with Illumina's value of Make Customers Heroes, your work will directly enable internal teams and customers to deliver reliable, reproducible genomic outcomes that advance human health.

Illumina's employee benefits are industry-leading and include, flexible time off, private medical insurance, compassion and care time off, leisure travel insurance, pension, employee stock purchasing program, volunteer time off, and much more!

You are an experienced scientist with deep expertise in laboratory automation and a strong background in genomics or next generation sequencing workflows, ideally gained in high throughput laboratory or product development environments. You bring significant hands on experience developing end to end automated workflows on Hamilton liquid handling systems using VENUS 6, and you are confident scripting, troubleshooting, and refining complex methods to ensure robust, intuitive, and user friendly execution. You have broad scientific literacy across instrumentation, chemistry, software, and molecular biology, and are ideally comfortable working with Illumina sequencing platforms. You are highly analytical and able to independently evaluate complex technical challenges, design appropriate experiments, and communicate clear, data driven recommendations to a wide range of stakeholders. You thrive in fast paced, cross functional environments, take accountability for your work, and adapt proactively to shifting project priorities. Your approach reflects Illumina's commitment to excellence, innovation with purpose, and winning together through collaboration, transparency, and shared ownership.

Key responsibilities include:

• Lead the development, optimisation, and maintenance of automated genomics workflows on Hamilton liquid handling platforms, with a strong focus on VENUS 6 scripting.
• Program, customise, and troubleshoot liquid handling systems to ensure strong technical performance, end to end workflow continuity, and intuitive user execution.
• Generate high quality technical documentation, protocols, and training materials to enable reproducible implementation and effective knowledge transfer.
• Act as a subject matter expert for automation and system integration, supporting investigations across instrumentation, software, and assay components while taking ownership for outcomes.
• Design, execute, and analyse verification and validation studies, clearly communicating results, risks, and recommendations to project teams and stakeholders.
• Collaborate closely with cross functional partners to ensure cohesive system performance across hardware, software, and chemistry, embracing an enterprise mindset.
• Provide clear technical updates, insights, and recommendations to support decision making and project delivery.
• Build strong relationships with internal collaborators and support customer training and workflow enablement activities where required, helping customers succeed.

Our team members are bright, energetic, and dedicated – they are the driving force behind our innovation and impact. To attract the best and brightest, we offer a competitive employee benefits program. We view it as a smart investment in our people, one that recognises the tremendous value they bring to our business every day. At Illumina, we push boundaries. We think beyond the conventional. We dream big. With the energy of so many bright and accomplished people, the opportunities are endless.