Job Description

Senior Systems Engineer (Software)

Melbourn, near Cambridge | Full-time | On-site

Cell therapies are already changing what is possible for patients with cancer and other devastating diseases, by reprogramming their own cells to fight disease. To bring these therapies to many more people, manufacturing has to change, and that is exactly what Cellular Origins is here to do. In this role, you will help shape the software systems that make reliable, scalable cell therapy manufacturing a reality for patients who are waiting.

Cellular Origins’ Constellation platform uses mobile robotics and intelligent orchestration to connect and automate existing bioprocess tools. That means our partners can scale up without re-developing their therapies, keep control of their biology, and move from clinical promise to commercial reality with confidence. You will be part of the team that turns this factory-led vision into robust software systems that run in real cell therapy facilities.

This is a unique opportunity to guide the architecture and systems design of an end-to-end automation platform, from concept through to manufacturing deployment. You’ll work closely with engineers, biologists and product teams to make sure every software decision supports safe, reliable manufacture of advanced therapies for patients around the world.

What You’ll Do

You’ll get to sit at the heart of our system, turning complex user needs and workflows into clear, testable software requirements and architectures that developers can build against with confidence. You’ll join early conversations about what we are building, then help carry those through to validation in real manufacturing environments.

You’ll:

• Shape the system and software architecture for an end-to-end cell therapy manufacturing automation platform, with a strong focus on interfaces, robustness and quality.
• Define, decompose and maintain system and product-level software requirements, giving development teams clear, traceable inputs they can trust.
• Lead structured requirements processes, from capturing user and stakeholder needs through to verification and validation with external partners.
• Identify and communicate key technical risks, trade-offs and interdependencies, helping the wider team make sound, timely decisions.
• Drive the adoption of tools and practices that support regulatory and quality compliance, including requirements management, traceability and change control, to meet and exceed the expectations set by client engineering & quality teams, and industry regulators.
• Develop and maintain technical documentation that keeps system-level designs, requirements and tests aligned across the lifecycle.
• Collaborate with internal and external software development teams to agree designs, test plans and acceptance criteria, and keep everyone aligned on scope and priorities.
• Help plan and sequence agile software feature development over successive phases, from early prototypes through to productised systems in manufacture.
• Work closely with colleagues in software engineering, biology, product, manufacturing and quality to ensure the whole system hangs together in a clean, coherent way.

Qualifications

About You

You enjoy sitting at the junction of architecture, engineering and delivery. You like making sense of complex systems, turning ambiguity into clear requirements, and keeping a calm, structured view of how everything fits together. You are as happy talking about a traceability matrix as you are sketching out interfaces on a whiteboard.

You’ll bring:

• A strong academic or vocational background in Software Engineering, Computer Science or a closely related discipline.
• Extensive hands-on experience of developing and delivering software products into manufacture or other real operational environments.
• Demonstrated expertise in building and managing structured requirements hierarchies, ideally using tools such as DOORS, Jama or similar.
• Experience across the systems engineering lifecycle, from capturing requirements through to integration, verification and project completion.
• An understanding of product development and manufacturing processes, ideally within factory automation, bioprocessing or pharmaceutical environments.
• The ability to generate clear visualisations of quantitative data to support design decisions and trade-offs.
• Strong creative and critical thinking skills, and the confidence to explore options, challenge assumptions and propose practical solutions.
• The ability to comprehend, communicate and manage complex system-level trade-offs in a way that brings stakeholders with you.
• Familiarity with decision analysis, operations research or formal systems engineering and requirements management approaches would be a plus.
• Collaborate with internal and external software development teams to agree designs, test plans and acceptance criteria, and keep everyone aligned on scope and priorities. Your personal experience, energy and enthusiasm will be instrumental to reach a timely compromise amongst multiple stakeholders with competing design goals.

You’ll thrive here if you:

• Enjoy working in rapid development cycles and can adapt as requirements evolve.
• Like collaborating in multi-disciplinary teams that include software engineers, biologists, product managers and manufacturing specialists.
• Are excited by the idea of spending your time on-site at our Melbourn campus, close to the labs and hardware your work supports.

Additional Information

Benefits

Cellular Origins is based on the TTP Campus, within purpose-built sustainable offices, labs and green surroundings, 10 miles south of Cambridge. Our working culture encourages entrepreneurship, shared ideas and collaboration, while providing you the freedom to do your best work.

Our employee benefits include:

• Annual bonus
• 25 days holiday
• Employer pension contribution of 10% of salary
• Free lunch and all-day refreshments
• Private medical insurance for employees and dependants
• Enhanced family friendly leave
• Life insurance worth 6x salary
• Electric car leasing scheme
• Cycle to work scheme
• Season ticket loan
• Activities and community that supports healthy activities that bring colleagues together; whether it’s lunchtime squash or football, Zumba or our own rock band. Colleagues initiate new clubs and outings whenever they feel there’s something missing!
• Local sports facilities and theatre discounts and memberships.

Ready to apply?

If you are excited by the idea of using your systems and software engineering skills to help bring life-changing cell therapies to many more patients, we would love to hear from you.

Apply now to join an exceptional team that is redefining how cell therapies are manufactured and helping bring these treatments to more patients, faster.

Every application will be reviewed by the hiring team and will receive a response.