Careers

We are no ordinary people.

We are original thinkers and problem solvers.

Are you part of our solution?

PhD Studentship Project

Assessing the plant health risk of newly discovered viruses from niche tuber crops

To learn more about our PhD Studentship project click here.

To apply please send your CV and covering letter stating the application reference number in the title of your email to either Adrian Fox at Adrian.Fox@fera.co.uk or Neil Boonham Neil.Boonham@newcastle.ac.uk

PhD start date: January 2021

Closing date for applications: Monday 7th December 2020

Interview date: w/b Monday 14th December 2020

We Are Recruiting!

The Plant Health diagnostics teams are recruiting a significant number of new roles to support the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs biosecurity activities. There will be an increase in pest and disease samples coming from Plant Health inspections once the UK has left the EU in 2021 and we are taking on a range of roles from junior/trainee diagnosticians to experienced senior scientists as well as new team managers. This is an exciting opportunity to join an innovative science organisation and contribute to the biosecurity of the UK. .

Click here to learn more about our positions and select ‘York’ as your ‘Primary Location’

We are proud to be a world-class science services company whose successes help to tackle some of today’s biggest challenges, presented to by our overcrowded planet. At Fera we work hard to help the world make better use of natural and sustainable resources whilst ensuring people can live and eat safely.

Our success is built on our ability to solve problems. Over 100 years of our accumulated original thinking sets us apart from the rest. If you love change, a challenge and the opportunity this brings, Fera could be right for you. So join us and make a difference.

Fulfil your PhD journey by working in conjunction with Fera Science and Newcastle University

Through our research commitment to deliver innovation across strategically important industry sectors, our PhD studentships are designed to foster emerging talent and original thinking within the agri-food sector.

Working with our extensive network of academic partners, Fera have an excellent record of supporting PhD students and offer a range of studentships to grow the specialist skills base required. Fera is a fantastic working environment to develop your PhD and for starting your research career.

Learn More

"Being based at Fera offers great opportunities with a wide range of technical expertise and analytical capabilities. I also like seeing how research can be applied on a larger scale to provide a service or product."

Sean Mason, PhD Student

Hear more from our PhD students

Current PhD Projects Available

How we do it

Over 300 Scientists

More than 350 scientists, many of whom are experts in their fields and are renowned on the scientific world stage.
Over 600 research projects per year

We also publish hundreds of peer reviewed journals and work with many collaboration partners.
4km laboratory benching facilities

4km laboratory benching facilities with the latest technology and tools, & state of the art equipment

View our Site & Facilities
National Reference Laboratory across 7 areas

Fera Science Fera acts as National Reference Laboratory under Regulation (EC) No. 882/2004. The Regulation establishes a framework of rules for Member States to adhere to for monitoring and enforcing feed and food law to ensure feed and food is safe.

We support our partners to develop new products and services across the agri-food chain and the environment to improve global food security and safety, sustainability. We have roles in a variety of sectors - are you ready to join Fera?

Current Opportunities

Join our team

Chemical Regulation

Apply your knowledge and expertise to help our team develop effective, sustainable and safe chemical products for now and for the future.

Crop Health

Your skills are required in the fight against pests and pathogens to identify sustainable ways to improve crop health, yield, efficiency and value.

Food Safety

We deliver integrated, industry-facing solutions for our partners. Can you bring original thinking to our multi-disciplinary team?

Business Operations

Ingenuity isn't exclusive to great science. Our operations team are instrumental in all aspects of the business as we share challenges and solve global issues together.

Marketing and Sales

Passionate about promoting original thinking. We see difficulty as a challenge to demonstrate our effectiveness. Are you a collaborative and creative thinker?

Proficiency Testing^®

Fapas offers the widest range of analyte/matrix combinations for the food sector, delivering robust proficiency test results to meet quality control challenges.

PhDs

Pioneers in new diagnostic approaches our PhD studentships are designed to foster emerging talent and original thinking within the Agri-Food sector.

Apprenticeships

Providing apprentices with a high quality and broad science skill set to drive the next generation of scientific discovery. Are you ready to think differently?

Internships

Engaging internships that challenge interns to achieve tangible outcomes and build valuable skills across a variety of sectors

Original thinking applied to support sustainable global food security the right way

Fera has the best people in the right place focussed on delivering the right solution. We continually invest in our people and support them in delivering the best support to our partners. We:

· Invigorate our experts

· Invest in our science

· Expand horizons

· Identify and cultivate

· Actively listen and respond to behaviours

Our values are at the heart of everything we do. We are true to our values in the way we behave and conduct ourselves. Our people shape who we are as an organisation and set us apart from the rest. If our values match yours you’ll find Fera an inspirational and rewarding place to work.

Culture & Values

Living in York

The historical and vibrant city was voted ‘best place to live in 2018’

York earned the title of best place to live in 2018. Home to two universities, the sleek alignment of culture, historical architecture and regeneration through modern investment allows this city to cater for residents of all ages and interests. The great transport links makes this the ideal home for many businesses including Fera, attracting partners and colleagues from all over the world.

Travel

Fera’s situation at the edge of this bustling business hub perfectly places us for business with the global market. Travelling to and from York is easy thanks to its excellent transport links to London and further. Fast rail links connect York to Edinburgh and London taking 2.5 and 2 hours respectively and good road links make Fera available from other major cities including Leeds and Manchester convenient. Leeds Bradford International airport is just 23 miles away creating easy links to Europe and its business capitals.

Leisure

York offers a sense of both rural and city living providing a variety of activities to suit everyone within a convenient area. Famous for its heritage, culture isn’t hard to find with York’s many museums, galleries and historical theatres to go and visit.

A wide range of events take place all year round such as festivals and live performances with everything from rock to jazz and indie to classical, as well as comedy gigs. The racing calendar highlights York as one of the most popular courses.

Quirky independent shops are nestled amongst big name brands along with various cafes and restaurants. There’s a thriving nightlife as well with many bars and clubs.

Housing

York has plenty of different housing options to suit all requirements. Whether it is a townhouse, apartment or suburban housing, pricing is competitive offering good value for money. For those with families looking to settle York, its renowned universities and schools are amongst the best in the UK.

Site & Facilities

We continually invest in world class facilities and people, to respond to opportunities, events and emerging markets ensuring we remain the industry leader constantly delivering innovation.

So, which facilities & technologies will be at your disposal?

The breadth of our technology establishes us as a centre of diagnostic excellence to accelerate the pull translation of emerging technologies into real world applications.

Molecular Technology Unit: cutting-edge molecular diagnostics and DNA analysis facility (including high-throughput real-time PCR, field portable DNA testing equipment and Next Generation Sequencing)
Thomson Suite: one of the UK’s largest mass spectrometry facilities with 40 different machines, including the latest High Resolution & Time of Flight technology. Fera also a range of other analytical chemistry capabilities including Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR).
Quarantine Glasshouses & CE rooms: extensive suite of high-containment facilities for holding non-indigenous pests and pathogens, with its own dedicated horticultural team.
Reference collections: Fera hosts internationally important reference collections including over 100,000 entomological specimens, the world’s largest collection of plant-parasitic nematodes and the NCPPB (National Collection for Plant Pathogenic Bacteria)
Bee Research Unit: maintains over 60 experimental apiaries as part of its work with Defra’s National Bee Unit and other work on bee and pollinator health
Remote sensing: Fera has its own small flight of UAVs (‘unmanned aerial vehicles’ or drones) with trained pilots and GIS modelling capability.
Agri-food datasets: custodians of nationally important long-term datasets including pesticide usage and disease monitoring.