About us

You will not find public information about us (just yet!) as we are a health start-up on stealth mode. At Vidya, we aim to be the world's leading consumer health tech brand by making a real difference to human health and wellbeing. In doing so, we will move towards prevention, prediction, participation and personalisation as the dominant guardians of health and the key financial drivers of the healthcare industry. We will bring healthcare into the home and combine cutting edge technology with a consumer-first approach.

We are a well-funded, consumer-focused healthcare company with global ambitions, founded by an experienced team of industry veterans, entrepreneurs and scientists. We have ground-breaking technology that truly empowers the consumer and we are hiring now to build our initial development team.

This is a great time to join Vidya; you will have a voice and the opportunity to make an impact. Be ready to learn, have fun, and be inspired by our passionate, talented team. We're on the lookout for ambitious, talented, and smart individuals to join our expanding team.

About the role/ What you'll be doing

The Assay Scientist will work as part of the R&D team to deliver their objectives. In particular the successful applicant will bring knowledge and expertise of microarrays to the development and implementation of Vidya's core technologies and integrate this with the specialities of the rest of the team to attain target performance for new instrumentation.

R&D duties

• to take initiatives in the planning of research
• to identify and develop suitable techniques, and apparatus, for the collection and analysis of biomedical assay data
• to contribute to maintenance of research facilities and infrastructure
• to conduct data analysis
• to ensure the validity and reliability of data at all times
• to maintain accurate and complete records of all findings
• to write reports for submission to research sponsors
• to identify, capture and record IP
• to assist with IP protection
• to present findings to colleagues
• to provide guidance to other staff
• to attend relevant team meetings, workshops and conferences as necessary
• to develop contacts and research collaborations and the wider community
• to promote the reputation of the company

About you

Qualifications

• PhD in, Chemistry, Physics, Engineering, Biochemistry or a closely related discipline, or equivalent research, industrial or commercial experience with appropriate molecular sciences.
• 3+ years academic or commercial research experience post-PhD

Knowledge / Experience

• Experience with novel bioassay development and implementation
• Experience of quantitative bioassay data analysis and interpretation
• High level of knowledge/experience of/with of biomedical statistics
• Deep knowledge of chemical and biochemical mechanisms and processes
• Demonstrated ability to parse biological and biomedical literature
• Experience with affinity-based reagents. e.g. antibodies, affibodies, DNA
• Experience of working as part of a research team
• Experience with preparation of reports and documents.

Desirable

• Knowledge of and experience with surface modification chemistries
• Experience of optically read assays
• Experience with chemical labelling and tagging chemistries
• Experience with analysis of clinical material from human subjects
• Experience of producing biological and biomedically relevant data.
• Experience with data analysis
• Experience with microfluidic devices
• Experience with fluorescence spectroscopy and/or fluorescence detection

Skills and Abilities

• Creative approach to problem-solving
• Knowledge and experience with statistical analysis
• Able to research and discover solutions to problems
• Able to conduct a detailed review of literature and documentation and prepare summaries
• Able to organise work with minimal supervision; prioritise work in response to deadlines
• Communication skills; able to work as part of a multidisciplinary team, support and motivate colleagues, be open-minded
• Able to identify and report problems or potential problems accurately and early

Personal Attributes

• Interest in healthcare and the consumerisation of healthcare
• Self-starter with default to persevering
• When information is unknown, ability to be proactive and gather the relevant information to further inform decisions
• Flexible attitude towards work and ability to work in a fast-paced environment
• Willingness to undertake necessary training, to develop & apply new skills and knowledge

What are some of the benefits of working at Vidya?

We are looking after you. As well as the chance to develop products with real work impact and working with dedicated and passionate colleagues, our benefits have wellbeing in mind with:

• Competitive base salary, bonus linked with performance and share options in a rapidly growing business
• 30 days annual leave plus bank holidays
• Private Medical insurance with Vitality
• Preventive medical, dental and optical cash plan with WPA + Employee Assistance program
• Online GP appointments, plus various well-being initiatives and discounts via Vitality
• £200 annual personal development allowance + unlimited access to Sunlight Learning & Development platform
• Cycle Scheme, City Bike to Hire Scheme & Tech Scheme via salary sacrifice
• A tax-efficient pension scheme with Nest
• A tax-efficient charity donation scheme
• Regular company socials & daily snacks
• We believe that innovation comes with different perspectives, from anybody and at any time. To help keep and grow our culture of innovation and well-being, our office provides plenty of diverse and fun activities to help give us a different perspective, when we want it via our "Wellbeing room", our on-site gym, our outdoor space and our "alternative play area"

Vidya equal opportunity and diversity & inclusion commitment

At Vidya, we are committed to equal opportunity and to eliminate discrimination. We strongly believe in having diverse teams in which everyone can be their authentic self is key to innovation. We encourage people from underrepresented backgrounds to apply and we don't discriminate based on race, colour, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, marital status, disability or age. All employees are expected to adhere to the principles of Equal Opportunities in Employment Policy, Promoting diversity and all other relevant guidance/practice frameworks.