Laboratory Engineer

Lab Engineer

London

Competitive Salary

Our client is an ambitious start-up looking to utilise AI within the field of Materials Science to help advance cutting-edge technology in this area. This is a one-of-a-kind opportunity to join their small dynamic team in the early stages as they set-up and develop their research laboratory in London.

They are seeking a Lab Engineer to operate and maintain their materials synthesis and characterisation lab. You will run experiments, own instruments, and take responsibility for keeping equipment in good working order with minimal supervision.

This is a role for someone with solid practical experience across research-grade equipment, who is comfortable working independently and takes pride in a well-maintained instrument as in a well-executed experiment.

You will be joining a small, highly ambitious team of world-renowned engineers, AI researchers, and materials scientists. We move fast and value people who are energised by that.

Role:

Operate our core instrument suite independently: high vacuum equipment, high temperature metallurgy systems, high field magnets, XRD, SEM and optical characterisation.

Perform routine and preventive maintenance and diagnose faults before they become failures.

Run synthesis and characterisation experiments, ensuring reproducibility and rigorous data capture throughout.

Write and maintain SOPs and risk assessments for the equipment and processes you own.

Manage consumables, materials inventory, and equipment readiness for the broader research team.

Collaborate with materials scientists and ML researchers to design experimental runs and interpret results.

Support the integration of experimental data into digital infrastructure and AI pipelines.

Skills & Qualifications:

Qualified in physics, engineering, materials science or related field.

Several years of hands-on experience operating and maintaining research-grade equipment in a professional setting.

Direct experience with two or more instrument domains from our suite:

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• High-vacuum equipment.
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• X-ray diffraction (XRD).
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• Optical characterisation setups.
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• High-temperature metallurgical synthesis equipment.
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• High-field magnets.
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• Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM).
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Solid working knowledge of vacuum systems: pump types, leak detection, and routine maintenance.

Familiarity with ionising radiation safety requirements and relevant local regulations.

Background from one or more of: semiconductor manufacturing, scientific instrumentation companies, industrial research, national laboratories or other major national facilities, or NDT.

Careful, methodical approach to documentation: maintenance logs, SOPs, and data provenance.

Nice to Have

Experience writing or reviewing SOPs and risk assessments from scratch.