Vacancies at The South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC)

Description

• The Biomedical Research and Innovation Platform (BRIP), SAMRC, seeks to appoint a Senior Research Technologist to provide advanced technical and laboratory support to the Centre for Advanced Training and Innovative Research (CATIR) in Pretoria.
• The successful candidate will support the coordination and operation of specialised research and training laboratories. The incumbent will contribute to research activities, laboratory capacity development and the delivery of specialised technical training while ensuring compliance with Good Laboratory Practice, biosafety requirements, quality management systems and SAMRC policies.
• The position will play an important role in supporting the development and expansion of CATIR training programmes, including technical training and capacity development initiatives. The incumbent will work with scientists, postgraduate students, interns, academic institutions, industry partners and other strategic stakeholders.

Responsibilities will include:

• Provide advanced technical and research support in molecular biology, mammalian cell culture and related biomedical disciplines,
• Coordinate and support CATIR laboratory operations and capacity development, including the establishment and optimisation of specialised research laboratories, laboratory workflows, SOPs, equipment management, procurement, inventory and operational readiness.
• Coordinate and maintain laboratory quality and compliance systems, ensuring adherence to Good Laboratory Practice (GLP), biosafety requirements and SAMRC policies
• Plan, coordinate and deliver specialised laboratory training and skills development, including theoretical and practical training in molecular biology, mammalian cell culture, genomics, protein and gene expression.
• Contribute to scientific reporting, knowledge dissemination and programme development.

Requirements

Core Requirements:

• BSc degree in Microbiology, Biochemistry or a related field.
• A minimum of three years’ practical laboratory experience in mammalian cell culture, PCR, Western blotting and ELISA.
• Understanding of biopharmaceutical manufacturing.
• At least two years’ experience in teaching, training or facilitating laboratory-based short courses within a molecular biology or molecular techniques laboratory.
• Demonstrated experience in curriculum development, particularly for practical or skills-based training programmes.
• Experience in SCM procedures or JDE software.
• At least one year’s experience in a related industry environment, such as biotechnology, pharmaceutical or diagnostics.
• Proven experience in CAR-T, gene therapy, cell therapy or advanced cell-based technologies.
• Proven skills in data and statistical analysis.
• Strong organisational, communication and interpersonal skills.

Advantageous:

• Honours degree in a relevant field.
• Experience in laboratory management
• Driver’s license

Closing date:

• 09 October 2026

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Responsibilities:

• Eliciting user requirements, analysis, design, development, testing, documentation and delivery of new or revised functionality in accordance with the SDLC.
• Participation in projects (module implementation, new upgrade releases and rollout).
• Providing support and analysis of system support calls/requests and issue management.
• Refinement of business systems solutions.
• Training users how to use software effectively in their operations.
• Engagement with stakeholders on systems, processes and business requirements
• Support project deliverables and milestones for multiple projects

Requirements
Core Requirements:

• Bachelor’s Degree / BTech (NQF level 7) in Information Systems/ Computer Science, or related field.
• Four years relevant experience in a system development and support environment.
• Participation in the design, development and implementation of systems.
• Hands-on configuration experience of package or ERP systems.

Advantageous:

• Honours Degree (NQF level 8) in Information Systems or Computer Science.
• Experience in the public sector and/or research administration processes.
• Configuration skills and experience in Converis, Pentaho, or Web Development.
• Hands-on SQL and/or XML experience
•  Familiarity with command line in Linux
•  A sound knowledge of data migration/integration methods and tools
• Prior experience on a portal or web-based system implementation
• Understanding of object-oriented databases

Closing date:

• 12 October 2026