Your mission

Engitix Therapeutics is a pioneering biotechnology company unlocking extracellular matrix (ECM) biology to develop transformative therapeutics for fibrosis and oncology. By combining proprietary human ECM-based platforms with advanced cellular models, we are uncovering novel biology at the immune-stromal interface and translating these insights into innovative drug discovery programmes.

We are seeking a talented Scientist with expertise in macrophage and myeloid biology to join our Discovery Biology team.

The Role

This is an exciting opportunity to play a key role in advancing our understanding of macrophage and myeloid cell biology in fibrosis and cancer.

You will combine expertise in primary human immune cells with cutting-edge cellular and functional assays to investigate macrophage heterogeneity, activation states, and immune-stromal interactions within disease-relevant microenvironments. Working closely with colleagues across Discovery Biology, BioPlatforms and Data Science, you will generate insights that support target discovery, mechanism-of-action studies, and therapeutic screening efforts.

The successful candidate will be a highly motivated experimental scientist who enjoys working at the bench and is excited by the opportunity to establish new biological capabilities, develop innovative cellular models and assays, and contribute directly to discovery programmes. This role offers significant scientific ownership, exposure to early drug discovery, and the opportunity to apply state-of-the-art immunology approaches to uncover novel biology and therapeutic opportunities.

Key Responsibilities

• Establish scalable workflows for processing human blood and leukopak samples, including PBMC isolation and generation of primary human macrophages.
• Develop, optimise, and execute functional assays using primary and engineered immune cells, with a particular focus on macrophages and other myeloid cell populations.
• Perform multi-colour and high-parameter flow cytometry for immune cell phenotyping and functional characterisation.
• Design and execute macrophage activation, phagocytosis, cytokine secretion, and co-culture assays to investigate target biology and therapeutic activity.
• Develop and apply approaches to understand macrophage heterogeneity and function within disease-relevant microenvironments.
• Support the development of immune-stromal and ECM-based cellular models for target discovery and therapeutic screening.
• Analyse, interpret, and communicate experimental findings to multidisciplinary project teams.
• Contribute to the development of new macrophage and myeloid biology capabilities through implementation of innovative technologies, cellular models, and experimental approaches.
• Maintain accurate laboratory records and support safe and efficient laboratory operations.

Your profile

Essential

• Strong background in macrophage and myeloid cell biology.
• Significant hands-on experience handling human blood samples, leukopak processing, PBMC isolation, and immune cell culture.
• Experience deriving, characterising, and functionally evaluating primary human macrophages.
• Strong experience with multi-colour and/or high-parameter flow cytometry, including immune phenotyping and data analysis.
• Experience developing and executing immune cell-based functional assays.
• Strong experimental, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to work effectively within multidisciplinary teams.

Desirable

• Experience in immuno-oncology, fibrosis, inflammation, or tissue remodelling research.
• Experience with antibody-based therapeutics or immune-modulating agents.
• Experience with stromal biology, extracellular matrix biology, or immune-stromal co-culture systems.
• Experience with molecular biology techniques such as qPCR, RNA analysis, CRISPR-based perturbation, or gene knockdown approaches.
• Previous experience in a biotechnology or pharmaceutical research environment.

Qualifications

• PhD in Immunology, Cell Biology, Biomedical Sciences, Cancer Biology, or a related discipline.
• Typically 2–4 years of relevant postdoctoral and/or industry experience.
• Demonstrated ability to independently design, execute, troubleshoot, and interpret experiments.
• Passion for hands-on laboratory research and scientific discovery.

Why us?

• Work at the forefront of immune-stromal biology in fibrosis and oncology.
• Contribute directly to target discovery and early drug development programmes.
• Apply cutting-edge technologies to answer important biological questions with therapeutic relevance.
• Collaborate within a highly multidisciplinary internal and external teams and innovative research environment.
• Gain broad exposure to drug discovery while maintaining strong scientific and technical ownership.
• Help deliver transformative therapies for patients with significant unmet medical need.

Engitix is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all suitably qualified persons regardless of their race, sex, disability, religion/belief, sexual orientation or age.