--- title: 'Member of Scientific Staff, Protein Production at Substrate Bio' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/member-of-scientific-staff-protein-production-substrate-bio-london-b0r8362ywazw' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-10-21' --- # Member of Scientific Staff, Protein Production at Substrate Bio - **Company:** Substrate Bio - **Location:** London, United Kingdom - **Employment:** full-time - **Work type:** onsite - **Posted:** 2026-10-20 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-21 - **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/substrate-bio/86976d30-4637-4da8-954c-afd52f03d434 ## Job description LOCATION: King's Cross, London · PATTERN: Lab-based, full-time The opportunity We're a stealth startup in AI and bio, building infrastructure for data generation. The team is small and elite, the problems are hard, and the foundations are being laid right now. You'd help write them from the first line, with real ownership and a direct line to the founders. This role sits at the start of our protein work. Every measurement we make depends on the protein in the well being the right one, made the same way every time, and you would be one of the people making it. ## About us AI for biology has a data problem. The data that matters most doesn't exist yet, so we're building the infrastructure to produce it, with quality and traceability built in from day one. We're in stealth and heads-down on execution. We'll share more about what we're building once you've spoken with the team. ## The role You will make proteins, many of them at once. The work runs from DNA through to purified, quality-checked protein in 96-well format, ready for the binding and biophysical assays downstream of you. On the DNA side you will prepare expression templates from synthetic gene fragments, by PCR and by Golden Gate or Gibson assembly, and check them before they go forward. You will express proteins in cell-free systems first, with E. coli and mammalian (HEK293) expression following as the menu grows. You will purify them by affinity capture, mostly on magnetic beads in plates, and confirm what you made with quantification, CE-SDS and SEC. Every step is recorded as you go: what went in, which lot, which conditions, what came out, and what failed. Failed expressions and poor yields are kept as data, so they get the same care as the successes. As protocols settle you will help move them from the bench onto liquid handlers and our automated platform, working with the engineers who build it. This is a hands-on bench role, and in a small team you will also support the work either side of production when it needs doing. Downstream, that means molecular characterisation runs. Alongside, it means the cell culture behind our cell-based assays, from routine passage and banking to seeding assay plates. ## Your first 90 days ## FIRST 30 DAYS ◆ Run our core DNA preparation, cell-free expression and purification protocols to a consistent standard. ◆ Learn how a sample is tracked, from DNA order to purified protein, and what gets recorded at each step. ## DAYS 30 TO 60 ◆ Take a full plate of constructs from DNA through expression, purification and QC with minimal support. ◆ Support on one step beyond production, such as a downstream characterisation readout, a mammalian expression run or routine culture for the cell-based assay panel. ◆ Revise one protocol, including how its failures are captured. ## DAYS 60 TO 90 ◆ Run production week to week as part of the team, with QC results others can rely on without checking. ◆ Own and routinely execute a downstream characterisation readout, a mammalian expression route or maintenance of cell lines for a cell-based assay. ## Who you are You are a hands-on protein scientist who likes the bench and cares about doing the same thing well many times over. You have expressed and purified proteins yourself, you know what a failed prep looks like and why it failed, and you are comfortable working in plates rather than one tube at a time. You keep records someone else could follow without asking you. You say early when something is not working, and you are happy with a plan that changes as we learn. We do not hire people into boxes. The team is small, and early hires end up owning work beyond the job they joined for. Nobody arrives with every part of this role. If you are strong in most of it and quick to learn the rest, we want to hear from you. ## MUST HAVE ◆ A PhD in biochemistry, protein science, molecular biology or a related field (recent graduates welcome), or a BSc or MSc with two to three years of hands-on lab experience. Industry experience in a high-throughput setting is preferred. ◆ Molecular biology for expression: PCR, cloning by Golden Gate or Gibson assembly, and checking constructs by gel, fragment analysis or sequencing. ◆ Recombinant protein expression and purification you have run yourself, in at least one of cell-free, E. coli or mammalian systems, with affinity capture such as His, Strep or Protein A. ◆ Protein QC: quantification, SDS-PAGE or CE-SDS, and reading the results critically. ◆ Working in 96-well or 384-well plate formats, with careful, traceable record-keeping. ◆ Mammalian cell culture with good aseptic technique: adherent and suspension lines, thawing, passaging and banking, and transient transfection of HEK293 or CHO cells for expression. ## NICE TO HAVE ◆ Protein characterisation: binding kinetics by SPR or BLI, or biophysical assays such as nanoDSF, DLS or analytical SEC. ◆ Cell-based assays such as reporter bioassays for binding or blockade, receptor internalisation or cytotoxicity, with imaging or flow cytometry readouts. ◆ Liquid handlers, magnetic-bead purification systems or other lab automation. ◆ Experience with antibodies, nanobodies or other binder formats. ## Why this is unusual Most protein production roles make a handful of proteins well for one project. This one makes many, in plates, for a lab built around the quality of its data, and that changes the job in two ways. The record is part of the product. Every construct, lot, condition and QC result is captured as structured data, including the proteins that did not express, because a result is only as trustworthy as the material behind it. And the protocols you write become the starting point for automated workflows, so they have to be precise enough for a liquid handler to follow. That means more documentation and more standardisation than most research labs ask for. Some people find that energising; some find it outside their lane. Worth knowing in advance which one you are. ## How we work This is a lab-based role at our site in King's Cross, London. The proteins are made in the lab, so most of your week will be too, with room for writing and analysis away from the bench. The wider team is distributed and travels, so you will work with people who are not always in the building. We work in the open. Decisions are written down, work happens in Slack rather than scattered across tools, and the week opens with a session the whole company attends. There is a quarterly offsite. Each person owns their area and makes the call inside it, and we will expect that of you early rather than late. UK benefits are 30 days of annual leave plus public holidays, a pension with a 10% employer contribution, and top-tier Bupa private health cover. More is added as the team grows. The team you will join You will join the protein science team and report to a senior member of its scientific staff. Day to day you will work with the scientists running DNA supply, molecular characterisation and the cell-based assays downstream of you, with the functional genomics team who share the cell culture suite, and with the engineers building the software and automation the lab runs on. We are a small, elite team, and the people in it make the calls in their own areas. Our process Our process has four stages. A short screening call about the role and the practicalities. A behavioural interview about how you work, run from the same template for every candidate, before anything technical. A technical stage with the protein science team, built on real work from our lab rather than a puzzle, in person at the lab. Then references, aimed at whatever we still want to understand. If you are not sure whether you match every line above, apply anyway. We would rather read it and decide. We are an equal opportunity employer. We make hiring decisions on merit, scope-fit, and the strength of the working relationship we expect to build with each hire. Applications welcome from candidates of any background. ## About Substrate Bio ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: Substrate Bio is building a network of fully autonomous wet laboratories that produce the high-quality, structured data that foundation models in biology are bottlenecked on. - **Entity Type**: Private (Pre-Seed stage, funded by a combination of venture funding and government grants) - **Headquarters**: London, United Kingdom (King’s Cross) - **Founded**: 2023 (Incorporated June 13, 2023) - **Founders**: Mostafa ElSayed (CEO, also founder of Automata), Oli Hoy (formerly VP Customer Experience at Automata), Alexey Morgunov (AI Scientist co-founder), and a founding biology lead joining shortly. ## Core Business - **Primary industry/industries**: Deep Tech, Biotech / Life Sciences, AI-driven biology, Lab Automation - **Target customers**: B2B; foundation model labs, global pharmaceutical companies, and AI-driven biology researchers. - **Mission or purpose statement**: To become the critical infrastructure layer for AI-driven biological discovery by building a network of autonomous wet labs that operate in a closed loop with foundation models. ## Products & Services - **Autonomous Wet Lab Platform**: A network of fully autonomous wet laboratories (first node in King’s Cross, London) where pipetting robots run continuously, executing experiments end-to-end with no human intervention. The labs return structured data within hours. - **Closed-Loop Integration with Foundation Models**: The platform is designed so that foundation models design the experiments and read the results in real time. Better data improves the models, and better models design better experiments. - **Token-Based Usage Pricing**: Access to the platform is sold on a usage basis via a token-based model that maps physical inputs (instrument time, materials, compute, complexity) onto a cleaner customer-facing unit of value. ## Market Standing - **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed (likely pre-seed/seed stage, funded by founders and undisclosed angels). - **Key Metric**: Total Funding — Not publicly disclosed, but funded in parallel by venture funding and government grants (including ARIA and DSIT grants). - **Notable Investors/Partners**: Not publicly named. The company is spinning out of Automata, the UK lab automation company. - **Growth Signals**: Active hiring in 2026 (Head of Functional Genomics, Chemistry Principal Scientist, Financial Controller). Targeting a team of ~32 people by the end of Q1 2027. First lab node opening in King’s Cross, London, with several integrated workcells and two scientific verticals online by mid-2027. ## Competitive Advantages - **Autonomous, Not a Cloud Lab or CRO**: Substrate is building a fully autonomous lab platform with closed-loop integration, differentiating itself from traditional cloud labs or contract research organizations (CROs). - **Data Quality for AI**: The core thesis is that the bottleneck in AI-driven biology is high-quality, structured experimental data. Substrate’s automated labs are designed to produce this data at scale, creating a unique moat. - **Open Access Model**: Researchers access the platform through an API with no minimum commitment and no exclusivity, lowering the barrier to entry for AI labs. - **Deep Integration with Foundation Models**: The platform is built from the ground up to operate in a closed loop with AI models, not as an afterthought. ## Strategic Focus - **Building the First Node**: The immediate priority is opening the first autonomous lab node in King’s Cross, London, and getting two scientific verticals online by mid-2027. - **Scaling the Team**: Aggressively hiring senior scientific and operational talent to build the experimental protocols and finance function. - **Commercial Model**: Developing and stress-testing a token-based usage pricing model that translates physical lab capacity into customer cost. - **Grant and Venture Funding**: Managing parallel ARIA and DSIT grants alongside a venture round to fund capital-intensive lab infrastructure. ## Why Work Here - **High-Impact, Foundational Work**: This is a deeply unusual finance and engineering problem — building the infrastructure layer for AI biology from scratch. The work directly addresses a critical bottleneck in the field. - **Founding Team & Culture**: The company is led by four co-founders with deep expertise in lab automation (Automata), AI, and biology. The culture is described as hybrid with a strong in-person presence (at least three days a week in King’s Cross). - **Unique Finance Role**: The Financial Controller role, for example, is described as "the single highest-impact piece of finance work in the company," blending finance, product, and pricing work. - **Growth Trajectory**: The company is scaling from 4 co-founders to ~32 people by Q1 2027, offering early employees significant ownership and influence. - **Location**: Based in King’s Cross, London, a major tech and life sciences hub. ## Sources 1. [substratebio.ai](https://substratebio.ai/) 2. [Companies House - Substrate Bio Ltd](https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/17191596) 3. [Companies House - Officers](https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/17191596/officers) 4. [AshbyHQ - Financial Controller Job Posting](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/substrate-bio/a440fcca-aa12-42e6-9997-611463f8ddf4) 5. [AshbyHQ - Chemistry Principal Scientist Job Posting](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/substrate-bio/7d15e5f9-3f0b-4ad6-abce-c83bf4ed8eb1) 6. [BeBee - Head of Functional Genomics Job Posting](https://bebee.com/gb/jobs/head-of-functional-genomics-substrate-bio-london--theirstack-688561239) 7. [Startuply.vc - Substrate Bio Profile](https://startuply.vc/startup/substrate-bio-u76ba) 8. [Startuply.vc - Article on Substrate Bio Hiring](https://startuply.vc/article/substrate-bio-is-hiring-for-a-fully-automated-wet-lab-that-doesn-t-yet-exist-ioy8to) ## Other roles at Substrate Bio - [Member of Scientific Staff, Cell Culture and Functional Assays](https://feeny.ai/job/member-of-scientific-staff-cell-culture-and-functional-assays-substrate-bio-9j35c427kp0a) — London, United Kingdom - [Member of Scientific Staff, Computational Chemistry](https://feeny.ai/job/member-of-scientific-staff-computational-chemistry-substrate-bio-london-gnvrza03pbc9) — London, United Kingdom - [Member of Scientific Staff, Cell Line Development](https://feeny.ai/job/member-of-scientific-staff-cell-line-development-substrate-bio-london-dpem152a9trk) — London, United Kingdom - [Protein Production Scientist, Biologics](https://feeny.ai/job/protein-production-scientist-biologics-substrate-bio-london-j9tks50dnee6) — London, United Kingdom - [Member of Technical Staff, Intelligence](https://feeny.ai/job/member-of-technical-staff-intelligence-substrate-bio-london-x22edfw5dq03) — London, United Kingdom - [Member of Technical Staff, Intelligence - Functoional Genomics](https://feeny.ai/job/member-of-technical-staff-intelligence-functoional-genomics-substrate-bio-london-hc5g0evaggx7) — London, United Kingdom - [Member of Technical Staff, Software](https://feeny.ai/job/member-of-technical-staff-software-substrate-bio-london-1ap71r57hp67) — London, United Kingdom - [Lab Operations Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/lab-operations-manager-substrate-bio-london-6hqtcygvvv2m) — London, United Kingdom - [Molecular Characterisation Scientist, Biologics](https://feeny.ai/job/molecular-characterisation-scientist-biologics-substrate-bio-london-mtfkrd1s2mqt) — London, United Kingdom