"AI-Assisted Formulation Lead (KTP Associate)"

University of Essex - School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering

Placed On: 16th March 2026

Closes: 12th April 2026

Job Ref: REQ09901

KTP
Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) are a unique UK-wide activity that help businesses to improve their competitiveness and productivity by making better use of the knowledge, technology and skills within universities, colleges and research organisations.

Further information is available at: https://iuk-ktp.org.uk/

THE PROJECT

The University of Essex in partnership with Roseway Labs offers an exciting opportunity to develop AI-driven tools that automate pharmacist scheduling and assist with novel drug formulation, embedding advanced optimisation and generative technologies into Roseway Labs' compounding pharmacy platform to improve efficiency, scale personalised medicine production, and position the business as a leader in tech-enabled healthcare.

DUTIES OF THE POST

The duties of the post will include:

• Developing a bespoke Large Language Model (LLM) and Agent capable of generating novel drug formulations.
• Training with limited proprietary data.
• Designing a feedback-driven learning loop.
• Ensuring clinical relevance and compliance.
• Adapting open-source LLMs.
• Building a privacy-preserving recommendation system.
• Deploying outputs within a real-world pharmaceutical infrastructure.
• Communicating and developing relationships with key stakeholders.

These duties are a guide to the work that the post holder will initially be required to undertake. They may be changed from time to time to meet changing circumstances.

KEY REQUIREMENTS

Qualifications

• A minimum of an MSc in Computer Science, Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, or a closely related discipline (or equivalent professional experience).

Experience, knowledge and skills

• A high level of programming ability, particularly with the following:
  • Python
  • Machine Learning / Artificial Intelligence frameworks
• Experience of developing and deploying LLM based systems.
• Experience adapting or tuning open-source LLMs.
• Experience designing and implementing RAG pipelines.
• A strong understanding of evaluation methodologies and hallucination mitigation in generative systems.
• Experience in the preparation, structuring and knowledge base construction for data in AI systems.
• A strong understanding of, and a commitment to, security, privacy and responsible AI principles.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• A commitment to quality assurance and reproducibility with a strong attention to detail.
• An ability to translate scientific or technical requirements into a robust AI system design.
• Excellent communication skills with an ability to convey complex matters to a variety of audiences and key stakeholders.

BENEFITS

As a KTP Associate, the post will offer the following benefits:

• A personal development budget of £4,333 (exclusive of salary).
• Management training and mentoring by an Innovate UK KTP Adviser.
• An interesting and challenging role, with exposure to a variety of stakeholders.
• Full access to university resources to complete the project.
• World-leading Academic and Company project supervision, with project support by a dedicated, sector leading KTP Office.

LOCATION

Roseway Labs, 40 Clifton Street, London, EC2A 4DX

Hybrid working arrangements can be considered for this role. A typical working pattern involves 1 to 2 days working from home per week.

Please use the 'Apply' button to read further information about this role including the full job description and person specification which outlines the full duties, skills, qualifications and experience needed for this role. You will also find details of how to make your application here.

Our website http://www.essex.ac.uk contains more information about the University of Essex. If you have a disability and would like information in a different format, please email resourcing@essex.ac.uk.