Scientific Associate 1

For 75 years, Charles River employees have worked together to assist in the discovery, development and safe manufacture of new drug therapies. When you join our family, you will have a significant impact on the health and well-being of people across the globe. Whether your background is in life sciences, finance, IT, sales or another area, your skills will play an important role in the work we perform. In return, we’ll help you build a career that you can feel passionate about.

Job Overview

At our world class facility in Elphinstone, Tranent (close to Edinburgh), our Formulation Services Department currently has an exciting career opportunity for a Scientific Associate.

Due to our continued growth and success, we can offer rewarding opportunities in a research environment. Working as a Scientific Associate you’ll join you’ll join a team responsible for the storage and control of test items and the preparation of formulations supporting safety assessment studies.

Duties and responsibilities include:-

• Preparation of Vehicles used to prepare formulations
• Preparation of all types of formulations using a variety of techniques on non GLP and GLP safety assessment programmes
• Delivery of Formulations
• Taking archive and formulation analysis samples
• To maintain all records in accordance with ALCOA+ principles.
• To conduct work in accordance with Study Plans (Protocols), SOPs, Formulation Process Documents, and the principles of Good Laboratory Practice and Good Clinical Practice.
• Communicating and working effectively as part of a team
• Liaising with internal and external customers
• Working to agreed deadlines

Applicants should have:-

• A degree in a relevant scientific subject
• A good attention to detail
• IT skills
• Good communication skills
• Experience in a customer service environment is desirable

In return we offer a competitive salary and benefits package. Also, our excellent training programme will give you the experience you’ll need to help further your career.

Salary for this role is £28,789.76 per annum.

Closing date: 14 August 2026.

Job Description

Performs technical laboratory activities in support of client studies or procedures. Performs analysis of data for quality and completeness and determines if results are as expected. Records data in compliance with company and regulatory policies and standards to meet quality and accuracy requirements. Executes scientific testing strategies and studies. May participate in development as part of team. May lead assay research, assay validation or study conduct, or is involved in preparation of material (e.g. protein, nucleic acid, cells, etc.). Reviews and interprets study data, communicates results to clients and writes final reports. Ensures compliance with protocols and all applicable SOPs. Troubleshoots and resolves assay or technical issues in the laboratory when scientific expertise is needed. Contributes to specific dataset interpretation, or when appropriate answering questions from regulatory authorities. For singular focus of Chemistry or Biology disciplines, refer to specified role on job architecture.

Education

No degree required

Physical Requirements

About Safety Assessment
Charles River is committed to helping our partners expedite their preclinical drug development with exceptional safety assessment services, state-of-the-art facilities and expert regulatory guidance. From individual specialty toxicology and IND enabling studies to tailored packages and total laboratory support, our deeply experienced team can design and execute programs that anticipate challenges and avoid roadblocks for a smooth, efficient journey to market. Each year approximately 300 investigational new drug (IND) programs are conducted in our Safety Assessment facilities.

About Charles River
Charles River is an early-stage contract research organization (CRO). We have built upon our foundation of laboratory animal medicine and science to develop a diverse portfolio of discovery and safety assessment services, both Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) and non-GLP, to support clients from target identification through preclinical development. Charles River also provides a suite of products and services to support our clients’ clinical laboratory testing needs and manufacturing activities. Utilizing this broad portfolio of products and services enables our clients to create a more flexible drug development model, which reduces their costs, enhances their productivity and effectiveness to increase speed to market.

With over 20,000 employees within 110 facilities in over 20 countries around the globe, we are strategically positioned to coordinate worldwide resources and apply multidisciplinary perspectives in resolving our client’s unique challenges. Our client base includes global pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, government agencies and hospitals and academic institutions around the world.

At Charles River, we are passionate about our role in improving the quality of people’s lives. Our mission, our excellent science and our strong sense of purpose guide us in all that we do, and we approach each day with the knowledge that our work helps to improve the health and well-being of many across the globe. We have proudly worked on 80% of the drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the past five years.

At Charles River Laboratories, we recognize and recruit all talent. We are a company committed to fostering a sense of belonging and work daily in this direction.