Early careers

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We aspire to hire the brightest and most inquisitive minds to drive our technology forward and bring the widest benefits to society through enabling the analysis of anything, by anyone, anywhere. Whilst some of the team have worked for decades on their expertise subject, Oxford Nanopore has a strong focus on hiring newly graduated scientists who are taking their first steps into the world of work — 40% of our workforce are aged 34 or younger.

Internships

We are proud to offer meaningful opportunities for students throughout their undergraduate or postgraduate studies — whether a full-year industry placement or a shorter experience of 3 to 9 months. Throughout the summer you’ll be part of an intern community, engaging in activities such as visiting other Oxford Nanopore locations, undertaking professional development training and even spending time with our CEO, Gordon Sanghera.

Eligibility

  • Successful candidates will be available to accept a minimum 3-month placement, commencing from spring/summer 2025. Start dates are adaptable and finalised during the offer process based on the placement duration
  • All roles require full-time hours for the duration of the placement, either in our Oxford headquarters on the Oxford Science Park, or at the Harwell Science & Innovation campus
  • You must have an existing right to work in the UK to be considered

See a list of our available internships below. Applications open on 29th November and close 5th January 2025

New Platform Engineering & Platform Research

Apply for the opportunity to collaborate with multi-disciplinary teams to prototype new sequencing platforms and develop advanced sensor array technologies. Gain hands-on lab experience while building scientific and technical skills in key aspects of Oxford Nanopore’s technology.

Software Engineer – Digital Microfluidics

As a Software Engineer Intern on the microfluidics platform, you’ll develop and optimize software for controlling fluidic systems in our devices. Develop your experience in embedded systems, control algorithms, and high-performance development while collaborating with researchers and engineers.

Automation Solutions

Join us to support genomic workflow development using the ElysION liquid handling robot. Obtain practical lab experience, troubleshoot, write scripts, and explore key aspects of Oxford Nanopore’s sequencing technologies, including microfabrication and electrochemistry.

Chemistry Research

Apply for one of our intern roles based in the Chemistry Research, Development or Production groups. In each role you will be part of a multi-disciplinary team working on synthesis, characterisation or testing of core chemical components of our sequencing platforms.

Development Scientist

Join our late development & regulated development team, working alongside experienced scientists to contribute to critical projects, gaining substantial experience exposure to lab work, data analysis and regulatory affairs in a fast-paced scientific R&D environment.

Research Scientist

Join cutting-edge projects optimising motor proteins or pore structures for DNA sequencing accuracy or advancing protein sequencing applications. Acquire practical, hands-on experience in molecular biology, bioinformatics, and collaborate with our leading scientists.

Machine Learning

As a Machine Learning Intern at Oxford Nanopore, you'll collaborate with expert researchers and engineers on projects enhancing sequencing accuracy, speed, and efficiency. Obtain experience applying Machine Learning to bioinformatics, large datasets, and model deployment.

Software Engineer

The team seeks an intern to collaborate on developing MinKNOW, the software controlling our sequencers. You'll contribute to the high-performance C++ backend, enhance the Electron-based front-end GUI, and support feature additions and rigorous testing.

A schematic showing the application timeline for internships

What is an early career at Oxford Nanopore like?

We interviewed six of our employees to hear about their journey into Oxford Nanopore, what the world of work was like for them versus their expectations, and the skills they have found most useful as part of their journey. Hear more about their stories below.

Early Career Advice

It can be an uncertain time when start thinking about your future direction. You may not even have a good idea of what that future will be – or what career options are available to you.

We asked nine of our colleagues who are either early in their career, or who have tried a few things out along the way, to provide an overview of their journey so far. Their expertise is split across traditional lab-based roles and those outside the lab as well. In these talks they cover:

  • Their educational and career journeys to date
  • What their role is
  • What their role involves
  • Their favourite thing about Oxford Nanopore
  • A piece of advice that has stood them in good stead

James, Regulated Applied Development Scientist

"Obstacles are opportunities"

Tash, Product Management Operations

"Only you can define what success looks like"

Sai, Development Scientist

"Embrace your fear"

Rosie, Inside Sales Account Manager

"Forget the norms, follow your heart"

Valdemar, Technical Applications Scientist

"Knock on as many doors as you can"

Callum, Development Scientist

"Do a ski season!"

Marta, Software Developer

"You CAN teach an old dog new tricks!"

Simon, UX Designer

"It's okay not to know what you want to do"

Ashe, Sequencing Chemistry Scientist

"Listen to your confident self"

Work Experience

Our short placements for local school students in years 10-13 prove very popular every year, and it’s important for us to create the best possible experiences.

As a result, we have to limit the opportunities we offer. With established partnerships, and a strong network, speculative applications are regrettably unlikely to be successful at this time in our company’s growth.

We invite you to look inside our organisation through the career talks and interviews available on this page. We hope they offer useful insight and inspire you to return here soon to explore future opportunities with us.

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