Electronic Instrumentation Engineer - Pathogen

Location: Oxford, England, United Kingdom

Department: Pathogen

Workplace: on_site

Employment Type: full

Description

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, engineers, researchers, educators and innovators 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.

Welcome to the Pathogen Project:

Within this ecosystem, the Pathogen Mission exemplifies EIT’s commitment to transformative science. It aims to revolutionise the diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases by leveraging whole genome sequencing (WGS)-based metagenomic and pathogen-specific analytical tools. This remit includes the development of a decentralised, sample-to-answer sequencing diagnostic platform for infectious diseases, enabling rapid and accurate analysis of patient samples without prior assumptions. Supported by Oracle Inc.’s cloud-computing scale and security infrastructure, the Pathogen Mission is progressing towards certified diagnostic products for deployment in laboratories, hospitals, and public health organisations worldwide.

Your Role:

Join the EIT Pathogen Programme – Applied Sequencing as an Electronic Instrumentation Engineer and help develop next-generation diagnostic technology. In this role, you’ll work alongside experts in microfluidics, microbiology, electronics and firmware to design, build and iterate prototype instrumentation for a point-of-care device capable of metagenomic sequencing through a microfluidic cartridge interface.

You will take a hands-on role in developing and integrating electronic systems within experimental rigs used to test cartridge-based modules, including sensors, actuators, thermal systems and data acquisition. Working closely with firmware and instrumentation engineers, you will support the development of reliable control and sensing systems for microscale fluid manipulation. This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to innovative healthcare technology with real-world impact.

This role offers the opportunity to work across a range of electronic and instrumentation challenges within a multidisciplinary R&D environment, with a strong emphasis on pragmatic system development using a combination of custom electronics and off-the-shelf subsystems.

Key Responsibilities:

• Design and implement electronic systems to support instrumentation, sensing and actuation in prototype platforms, using a combination of custom PCB design and integration of off-the-shelf modules where appropriate.
• Integrate and evaluate off-the-shelf subsystems (e.g. motor drivers, thermal controllers, detection modules) within experimental rigs to accelerate development and reduce system complexity.
• Design and develop supporting PCBs for system integration, including sensor interfacing, signal conditioning and control circuitry.
• Work closely with firmware engineers to define interfaces between hardware and embedded control systems.
• Support selection and integration of sensors, actuators, power supplies and control components.
• Assist in wiring, assembly and commissioning of electronic systems within laboratory rigs.
• Debug and troubleshoot electronic and system-level issues in collaboration with mechanical and firmware teams.
• Ensure reliable data acquisition from sensors and integration with control systems.
• Contribute to system-level integration, ensuring electronic designs are compatible with mechanical and fluidic constraints.
• Develop and maintain clear documentation, including schematics, wiring diagrams and integration notes.
• Support testing and characterisation of systems to improve performance, stability and repeatability.

Requirements

Essential Knowledge, Skills and Experience:

• Degree or equivalent experience in Electronic Engineering, Electrical Engineering or related field.
• Practical experience designing and implementing electronic systems for instrumentation, automation or laboratory environments.
• Experience with PCB design (schematic capture and layout) for small to medium complexity boards.
• Experience integrating sensors and actuators into working systems.
• Familiarity with microcontrollers and embedded interfaces (SPI, I2C, UART, etc.).
• Understanding of low-voltage power systems, signal interfacing and basic noise considerations.
• Experience debugging electronic systems in a laboratory or prototype environment.
• Ability to work effectively within multidisciplinary teams.
• Clear technical documentation and communication skills.

We recognise that candidates may not meet every listed criterion. If your experience aligns with most of the requirements and you are motivated by the mission, we encourage you to apply.

Desirable Knowledge, Skills and Experience:

• Practical skills in wiring, assembly, or commissioning prototype systems.
• Experience managing third-party builds, writing specifications, and working with contractors or suppliers.
• Background in laboratory or medical device automation, process control, or regulated systems.
• Experience performing risk assessments and supporting compliance testing.
• Knowledge of fluidic and thermal subsystems, including pumps, valves, motors, and sensors.
• Comfortable working as the sole electronic / Mechatronic engineer within a multidisciplinary team.
• Experience with collaboration tools such as Jira or Confluence.

 Key Attributes:

• Team-oriented and collaborative, eager to contribute within multidisciplinary project teams.
• Excellent communicator, able to explain complex technical ideas clearly.
• Creative problem-solver who thrives in an experimental and fast-moving R&D setting.
• Detail-focused and organised, ensuring high standards across all project deliverables.
• Strong time management, balancing multiple priorities effectively.

Benefits

We offer the following benefits:

• Salary: Competitive + travel allowance + bonus

• Enhanced holiday pay
• Pension
• Life Assurance
• Income Protection
• Private Medical Insurance
• Hospital Cash Plan
• Therapy Services
• Perk Box
• Electrical Car Scheme

Working Together – What It Involves:

• You must have the right to work permanently in the UK with a willingness to travel as necessary. In certain cases, we can consider sponsorship, and this will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
• You will live in, or within easy commuting distance of, Oxford (or be willing to relocate).