Laboratory Technician - Degree Apprenticeship

We have an exciting, brand-new opportunity for an Apprentice to rotate between Tropic’s core laboratories, alongside academic study, gaining both practical, work-based and theoretical scientific skills.

Job Purpose

Whilst studying towards a fully funded, 4-year, BSc Laboratory Science Degree at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), you will get exposure to our Crop (Rice Biotechnology), Technology Discovery, and Molecular Biology teams across three rotations. The programme provides opportunities for the apprentice to make a real contribution to Tropic’s R&D projects, explore scientific interests and develop a diverse skillset.

Responsibilities

Full training will be provided on:

Crop (Rice Biotechnology)

• Supporting all stages of in vitro plant production
• Labelling and recording all processed samples
• Handling large numbers of sterile cultures

Technology Discovery

• Cloning gene-editing constructs for plant transformation
• Transforming banana tissue and regenerating plants
• Genotyping to look for CRISPR editing (qPCR, Sanger sequencing, next-generation sequencing)
• Analysis of sequencing data using bioinformatic tools

Molecular Biology

• Cloning: vector assembly, plasmid purification and making competent cells
• Support other key cloning tasks, e.g., gene editing strategy design and optimization
• Genotyping: gDNA extraction, PCR, Sanger to characterize gene edited plant material
• Support other key genotyping tasks, e.g., next-generation sequencing and data analysis

As part of the apprenticeship, your attendance will be required at ARU (Cambridge) to complete a day release based training programme.

Please see here for more information on the course.

Requirements

Qualifications

• Minimum of 112 UCAS Tariff points (equivalent to B,B,C A Level or D,M,M from a National Diploma)
• At least 5 GCSE’s at Grade C/5 (including Maths and English)

There is a government requirement for apprenticeship candidates to present suitable GCSE/Level 2 Maths and English (or equivalent) certificates in order to complete an apprenticeship.

Core Skills

• A desire to pursue a long-term career in Biosciences
• Willingness to learn
• Positive and enthusiastic attitude
• A collaborative approach

About Us

Tropic is one of the world’s leading agricultural gene-editing companies. Our team is dedicated to the development and commercialization of high-performing varieties of tropical crops to provide significant benefits to growers, processors and consumers globally, tackling real-world problems around food security and sustainability.

Our vision is to become a leading seed business with significant ownership of its products from the laboratory to the field, while maintaining constructive relationships with growers and consumers based on transparency and trust.

Why Join Tropic?

• Excellent learning and career development opportunities
• Social events throughout the year

• Competitive compensation and benefits including: Private Medical Insurance through Vitality, Medical Cash Plan, 25 days annual leave, Group Income Protection and Life Assurance

Further Information

• Salary – £18,000 PA with yearly performance-based increases during the 4-year programme.
• Job Location – Norwich UK
• Time Requirement – Full Time
• Contract – 4-year Fixed-Term Contract, aligned with the apprenticeship programme
• Start date: August/September 2023
• Closing date – 18th June 2023

If you are looking to work in a dynamic company, striving towards a real-world impact, then consider joining our team and apply here!