Insect Rearing Lead

Job Description

Job title: Insect Rearing Lead, reports to Head of R&D

Location: Reading, UK

About BigSis

BigSis (http://bigsis.tech), is a fast-growing UK start-up that provides chemical-free insect control to farmers. Central to the BigSis business model is its innovative approach of automated individualised insect rearing and processing, which ensures that it can scale output reliably by replication.

The company has two sites in Reading and employs over 30 staff. BigSis was named by Bloomberg UK as one of 25 ‘startups to watch’ in October 2023 and has a Glassdoor rating of 5 out of 5.

We look to attract candidates who can demonstrate behaviours in sync with our company values:

Spirit – Having innovation, team and fighting spirit!

Fluid – Working in a flexible way and being open to change

Trustworthy – Includes honesty, integrity, respect and being approachable

Growth mindset – Learn and grow & embrace challenges

Succeeding together – Collaborate and celebrate success together

Purpose and responsibilities

Manual rearing

• Maintain fit, healthy insect colonies to support R&D projects, field trials and automation development
• Produce insects on time and to specification for internal field work and automation clients
• Develop and optimise manual rearing protocols for new and current target species

Team leadership

• Line management experience, including recruitment, mentoring, performance and document reviews
• Write and update SOPs and risk assessments
• Plan resources and perform regular stock checks

Health and Safety

• Serve as Radiation Protection Supervisor and ensure compliance with radiation safety protocols, including x-ray operations, training, and documentation
• Evaluate, enhance and enforce health and safety guidelines
• Foster a safety-focused culture, promoting awareness and hazard identification

Preferred qualifications and experience

• A degree in a relevant subject. Post-graduate qualification would be an advantage
• Previous experience of working with insects in a lab setting, preferably rearing insects on artificial diet
• Good understanding of data handling and statistical analysis. Familiarity with Python and/or R would be an advantage
• Experience in organising, prioritising and completing work to high standards and to tight deadlines
• Experience with automation development for insect rearing would be an advantage
• Knowledge of Microsoft Office, particularly Excel, Word and PowerPoint
• Effective verbal and written communications

• Comfortable working in hot and humid environments

Personal attributes

Important personal qualities in the unstructured and fast-changing environment of a start-up are:

• Energy, ambition and commitment to ensure the job gets done
• Honesty, integrity and openness to ensure we build a great company culture
• Flexibility to changes in priorities and adaptability to new ideas.