Laboratory Technician

*No agencies / recruiters, please

Location: Kidlington, north of Oxford

Contract: Full-time permanent

Reporting to: Fergus Love-House

About the Role

As a Lab Technician at Temperate, you’ll play a hands-on role in developing and validating our next-generation cooling technology. Working closely with our technology team, you’ll support day-to-day laboratory operations, prototype testing, and experimental work that directly feeds into product development.

This is a practical, impact-driven role at an early-stage climate hardware company. You’ll be working with physical systems, running experiments, maintaining equipment, and helping turn ideas into tested, real-world solutions. Your work will directly influence how our technology performs, scales, and ultimately delivers meaningful emissions reduction.

We’re looking for someone who enjoys being in the lab, takes pride in doing things carefully and methodically, and is excited to learn quickly in a fast-moving environment. You don’t need to have done everything before; curiosity, reliability, and a willingness to get stuck in matter most.

What you'll be responsible for

• Supporting the build, setup, and operation of lab experiments and test rigs for Temperate’s cooling technology
• Preparing, assembling, and maintaining experimental components, prototypes, and materials
• Running repeatable tests, following defined procedures, and recording results accurately
• Collecting, organising, and documenting experimental data in a clear, structured way (Notion, spreadsheets, lab logs)
• Maintaining lab equipment, tools, and instrumentation to ensure safe and reliable operation
• Helping troubleshoot experiments when things don’t behave as expected, working closely with our CTO to iterate quickly
• Ensuring good lab housekeeping and adherence to health & safety procedures
• Contributing to continuous improvement of lab processes, documentation, and ways of working

What we're looking for

• Hands-on experience working in a lab, workshop, or technical environment (academic, industrial, startup, or equivalent)
• Comfort with ambiguity: You’re able to make progress without detailed instructions—using reasoning, research, experimentation, and asking thoughtful questions when needed.
• Comfort following experimental procedures, recording results clearly, and keeping good lab notes
• Practical skills with tools, test rigs, or lab equipment (mechanical, electrical, thermal, or materials — depending on background)
• A strong sense of care, safety, and organisation in lab work
• Willingness to work in a fast-moving, early-stage environment where priorities can change
• A proactive mindset - you notice problems, flag issues early, and help solve them

Nice-to-haves

• Experience supporting R&D or prototyping in hardware, mechanical engineering, or climate tech
• Familiarity with thermal systems, heat transfer, fluids, or materials testing
• Experience maintaining lab inventory, equipment calibration, or safety documentation
• Basic data handling skills (e.g. spreadsheets, simple plots, organising results)

Most important

You don’t need to tick every box. We care more about curiosity, reliability, and the ability to learn quickly than a perfect CV. If you enjoy building, testing, and improving real-world systems, and want your work to contribute directly to solving a meaningful climate problem, we’d encourage you to apply.

However, to be considered you must have an existing right to work in the UK.

What we offer

• Competitive salary: £33,000-£37,000 per annum depending on experience
• Pension: Auto-enrolment pension scheme with a minimum 3% employer contribution
• Holiday: 25 days annual leave plus UK bank holidays
• Equity: Equity options in a fast-growing climate-tech startup
• Learning & mentorship: Access to our founders, mentors and advisors, including experienced entrepreneurs and CTOs
• Cycle to Work: Access to the UK Cycle to Work scheme
• Office perks: Snacks, monthly team lunches and team socials
• Statutory sick pay and family leave in line with UK requirements

How to Apply

Please email your CV and a short cover letter outlining your interest to hollie@temperate.uk with the subject line Lab Tech Application--[Your Name].

Applications are open and will be closing once we hire the right candidate. Our hiring process includes two rounds of interviews: One to understand your behaviour in past experiences and a second to assess your technical abilities and culture fit.

Our aim is to make an offer before the end of March 2026.