Head of Experimental Data Generation

Autonomous Lab Head – Experimental Data Generation & Automation

At the Ellison Institute of Technology (EIT)

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, policy makers, and entrepreneurs 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 www.eit.org.

About the Role

A critical purpose of our Autonomous Labs (AutoLabs) programme is to generate reliable, high-fidelity experimental data – both for EIT's own foundation models and for our partner Institutes. This role owns that mission.

The successful candidate will:

• Lead a small, lean team of laboratory scientists and automation specialists
• Remain deeply hands-on at the bench while designing experiments and troubleshooting automation directly

This is a build-it-yourself role—while expected to delegate management responsibilities, the postholder must design, run, and troubleshoot experiments personally. Success is measured by the volume, reliability, and fitness-for-purpose of the data generated against AutoLabs' strategic objectives.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the experimental design and wet-lab delivery of high-quality datasets for AI & Robotics foundation models
• Independently research and resolve open questions about experimental methods and data generation choices
• Lead, line-manage and develop a small team while personally performing wet-lab and automated experiment work
• Design, execute, document, and analyse experiments on automated platforms to produce high-fidelity, reproducible data at the required throughput
• Define and run end-to-end data generation campaigns—including scoping, scheduling, quality control, fidelity standards, and acceptance criteria
• Develop, optimize, and validate scientific workflows, starting with:
  • Cell culture
  • Protein engineering
  • Protein purification
• Collaborate with SciOps to maintain and troubleshoot automation (e.g., liquid handlers, thermocyclers, plate handling) for hands-free operation
• Work closely with modelling teams and partner Institutes to understand and fulfil downstream data requirements
• Use scientific computing and programming to support, complement, and orchestrate automated workflows and data handling
• Stay updated on advancements in the field, proposing technical improvements or introducing new equipment/methods
• Present results to internal teams, seminars, or external publications (where applicable)