Role Description

The Laboratory Operations Group is responsible for ensuring the safe, organised and efficient functioning of Owlstone’s laboratories, and maintaining essential laboratory equipment to maximum capacity and performance for the achievement of business objectives

As an Equipment and Calibration Engineer within the Laboratory Operations Group you will primarily support the running of Owlstone’s laboratory and engineering functions, following procedures to maintain and calibrate equipment and instrumentation, to ensure they are operating to required specifications.

Position Expectations And Abilities

The following abilities form the expectations of an Equipment and Calibration Engineer within the Owlstone business:

• Job Position Functional Knowledge - Position requires novice to practiced level of knowledge within a given subject area with an expectation to be able to apply that knowledge to business deliverables. Role begins to broaden, as does knowledge of broader business context and related techniques.
• Nature and Area of Impact of Position - Deliverable orientated impact. Is accountable to technical leads and project managers, or those with responsibility for operational delivery. Position will have a direct impact on their team's performance and outcomes. Contributes to the development of new ideas or techniques with guidance and review.
• Job Position Complexity - A mix of routine tasks and responsibilities that require a degree of decision-making, problem-solving, and some specialized skills or knowledge. Exposure to entire workflows and processes within a given subject area. Involved in planning, implementation and supervision of multiple sub-tasks.
• Uncertainty - Positions with established guidelines and limited need for improvisation. Procedures may be adapted and/or applied to novel workflows.
• Independence - Positions that offer more freedom in task execution and decision-making within set guidelines.
• Management - Position may manage the delivery of well-defined tasks, including the supervision of other team members in specific sub tasks.
• Leadership - No formal leadership position; primarily responsible for personal tasks and contributions.
• Business Acumen - Positions that required independent application of business processes and procedures. Developing an understanding of how different programmes and departments contribute to the company’s mission, vision and strategy within immediate role.
• Interpersonal Skills - Requires practiced level abilities with regards to communication, influencing and negotiating, listening and empathy, teamwork and stakeholder engagement.
• Personal Attributes - Requires practiced level abilities with regards to resilience and adaptability, proactivity and problem-solving competencies.

Accountabilities & Responsibilities

Calibration

• Performing internal calibration activities according to defined SOPs.
• Organising external calibration activities with external suppliers, to agreed scheduling.
• Provide guidance on calibration requirements including fitness of purpose for existing activities

Maintenance

• Performing equipment and instrument maintenance activities according to defined SOPs.
• Organising servicing and maintenance activities with external suppliers, liaising with vendors and end users to agree scheduling.

Records and procedures

• Maintenance of the asset database, including creation of new asset records, based on user requirements and filing of all required records.

• Creation and update to SOPs as required
• Raising and completing actions against non-conformances and CAPA, in relation to asset management.
• Collation of user-reported issues, monitoring of trends and recommendation of preventative measures to increase the reliability of instrumentation.

Support

• Management of critical spares and consumables stocks to minimise user downtime.
  
• Support timely and effective installation and qualification of new equipment and instrumentation.
  
• Support a range of continual improvement initiatives to reduce variation, increase efficiency and effectiveness of maintenance and calibration processes, improving the overall quality of Owlstone’s products and services

Health and Safety:

• Assist with the creation and update of health and safety documentation such as COSHH forms, PUWER assessments, Process and Area Risk Assessments.

In addition to these activities, you will also be expected to play an active role in the success of the Laboratory Operations Group. This could include performing review for others, acting as an advocate for departmental processes, running or contributing to department development seminars and deputising for more senior staff as required.

Person Specification

Knowledge

You will require:

• Working knowledge of IT systems and/or data systems relevant to a regulated business
• An understanding of the importance of equipment checks and maintenance
• Expertise in aspects of equipment or instruments used within a laboratory or engineering environment

The following knowledge would be advantageous:

• The knowledge to assess the appropriateness of calibration and maintenance activities against business requirements and justify / implement the change when required
• An understanding of sensors
• An understanding of how to program PLC controllers

Experience

You should have demonstrable experience of:

• Working in a laboratory or engineering environment
• Performing routine maintenance on equipment
• Performing routine performance checks on equipment

The following experience would be advantageous:

• Performing calibration activities
• The ability to assess the appropriateness of calibration and maintenance activities against business requirements and justify / implement the change when required
• Demonstrable practical skills associated with mechanical and electrical assembly
• Experience working within a controlled environment which is accredited to international standards, such as ISO 9001
• Exposure to internal and external audits

Benefits

Owlstone Medical is on a mission to save 100,000 lives and $1.5 billion in healthcare costs through the development and application of Breath Biopsy®. This involves collecting volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and respiratory droplets from breath, which can provide information about metabolic activity and markers related to health and disease.

Breath sampling has substantial advantages for the early detection of disease and to enable precision medicine approaches to patient care. To realize these advantages, Owlstone Medical offers Research Products and Services for biomarker discovery and is developing tests in applications including cancer, liver disease, asthma, and environmental exposure. Our work includes partnerships with major organizations including AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, the Cleveland Clinic, and the NHS and our platform is in use at well over 100 clinical and academic sites worldwide.

Our leadership in breath is underpinned by our world-class and varied team, including systems engineers, clinical scientists, analytical chemists, artificial intelligence specialists and clinical trials coordinators.

The Owlstone group also commercializes a range of highly innovative products based on its proprietary FAIMS chemical sensing technology in other markets including Scientific, Industrial Process Control, Military and Homeland Defense.

We offer a relaxed, friendly, flexible and international working environment with a strong and vibrant team-spirit. You will be rewarded with a competitive salary package that includes an Employee share options scheme and private medical insurance and your work will have a clear impact on people’s lives. If you want to experience the buzz of a thriving start-up company set to succeed on a global scale, Owlstone Medical could be the place for you.

We do not accept applications from agencies outside of our preferred supplier list. If you are concerned that your application has not been received by Owlstone Medical, please contact us using

Owlstone is an equal opportunity employer, and we will consider all qualified applicants for employment without discrimination on any characteristic protected by law including but not exhaustive to; grounds of disability, sex or sexual orientation, pregnancy or maternity leave status, race or national or ethnic origin, age, religion or belief, gender identity or re-assignment, marital or civil partnership status.

Due to the nature of our business, all employment is subject to satisfactory references being obtained and the attainment of a Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) check. Access to selected project information requires prior additional security authorization. Access to US technical data by employees requires prior Export Control function approval. Full clearance must be satisfactorily attained against all applicable project security and US export control authorisations. Failure to meet any reference, BPSS, project-security or export-control authorisations may have an impact on successfully completing your probationary period.

Notice to agencies

Owlstone Medical Ltd politely requests no contact from recruitment agencies or media sales. We don’t accept speculative CVs from recruitment agencies nor accept the fees associated with them. Should your agency wish to be considered in our next PSL review please contact careers@owlstone.co.uk