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:
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.
The Plant Biology Institute, headed by Professor Steve Kelly, is a key part of the Ellison Institute of Technology (EIT) Oxford. The institute aims to develop impactful and commercially sustainable solutions for improving global food production and planetary health through pioneering plant science research.
The Plant Biology Institute will unite world-class researchers who are focused on expanding the frontiers of plant science. Our research is focused on enhancing our ability to feed the planet while simultaneously improving the climate and ecosystem outcomes of food production. By embedding cutting-edge plant science research within an organisation that is focused on solving global challenges at scale, we aim to accelerate the timeline from discovery to global impact.
Areas of exploration include:
Researchers will have access to state-of-the-art laboratory and plant growth facilities and have opportunities to collaborate with experts at the forefront of research on AI, automation, and generative biology across the EIT ecosystem. They will also work with global leaders in market development, commercialisation, and impact creation. The Plant Biology Institute has long-term substantial funding to support the unique scale and ambition of its vision.
EIT is seeking a highly motivated and skilled Scientist or Senior Scientist in Plant Metabolic Engineering to join its pioneering Plant Biology Institute.
The successful candidate will lead the development of innovative metabolic engineering and synthetic biology approaches to manipulate plant cellular conditions. Specifically, the candidate will design, implement and characterise engineering strategies to optimise plant respiratory activity, energy status, and redox balance. These engineering approaches will be first evaluated and optimised in plant cell cultures guided by iterative design–build–test–learn cycles before being translated into whole plants for improving productivity.
The scientist will be expected to contribute to IP generation and play an active role in translating research into real-world and commercial solutions aligned with EIT’s mission of humane technological advancement. This role offers a unique opportunity to conduct high-impact research at the forefront of plant science while collaborating across multidisciplinary teams to drive innovation from lab to global impact.
o Demonstrated experience in plant metabolic engineering and synthetic biology
o Demonstrated experience in the targeted manipulation of cellular processes
o Demonstrated experience developing or applying methods to measure respiration, energy status, redox balance and/or other related metabolic parameters
o Demonstrated experience of transient and stable genetic engineering in plant cell cultures, tissues and/or whole plants
Led by a world-class faculty of scientists, technologists, policy makers, economists and entrepreneurs, the Ellison Institute of Technology aims to deliver scaled solutions to humanity's important problems.
By breaking down the silos between science, research, industry and policy, we are reimagining the path from scientific discovery to applied solutions for the benefit of society.
Set for completion in 2027, the EIT Campus in Littlemore will include more than 300,000 sq ft of research laboratories, educational and gathering spaces.
Fuelled by growing ambition and the strength of Oxford’s science ecosystem, EIT is now expanding its footprint to a 2 million sq ft Campus across the western part of The Oxford Science Park.
Designed by Foster + Partners led by Lord Norman Foster, this will become a transformative workplace for up to 7,000 people, with autonomous laboratories, purpose-built laboratories including a plant sciences building and dynamic spaces to spark interdisciplinary collaboration.
