Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) Architect (CR769)

Animal and Plant Health Agency - APHA Science Directorate

Location: United Kingdom

Salary: £56,375 to £62,000 Grade 7 / pro rata if applicable

Hours: Full Time, Part Time

Contract Type: Permanent

Placed On: 4th February 2026

Closes: 2nd March 2026

Job Ref: 443704

Salary: £56,375 to £62,000 depending on location

Working pattern: Full-time, Job share

Location: Bristol, Bury St Edmunds, Cardiff, Carlisle, Carmarthen, Crewe, Exeter, Leicester, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Nottingham, Preston, Shrewsbury, Weybridge, York

These roles will provide business, science, and people leadership driving transformative change, innovation, and science excellence for APHA. Are you someone who can lead and manage change in a challenging and dynamic environment? If so, we would love to hear from you!

The APHA Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) is used throughout the APHA Science Directorate, but primarily SLSD, both as a conventional LIMS system and as a critical data asset. APHA’s LIMS is critical to Defra’s animal disease management capability, enabling efficient, timely and accurate management of testing for animal diseases and pathogens enables disease outbreaks to be contained to protect UK agriculture, imports and exports of live animals to be biosecure and confidence to be improved in the disease freedom status for UK food and farming.

The Grade 7 APHA LIMS Architect will oversee the direction of and the scientific architecture within APHA’s extensive and complex LIMS system. This role will work closely with APHA Science and technology leaders and with colleagues from Defra’s IT department – Digital Data Technology Security (DDTS) – to create an ambitious vision for APHA’s LIMS system as well as a realistic and deliverable roadmap that delivers on this vision.

You will have experience with Thermo Fisher Scientific Sample Management LIMS or other similar LIMS solutions. Extensive experience of Laboratory Information Management System Architecture, configuration, modification or programming. Experience in planning and creating solutions from complex Scientific customer requirements in relation to LIMS platforms. You will use your advanced skills in LIMS platform configuration to optimise a LIMS data model, and LIMS systems design.

We aim to support the career and personal wellbeing of everyone in APHA. Our benefits include generous annual leave, a generous employer contributory pension, staff bonuses and recognition, salary sacrifice benefit options, and an employee discount scheme, reward vouchers and in-year bonuses. We also offer additional days off if accrued extra hours (flexi-time –if accumulated), three paid volunteering days per year.

Closing date: 2 March 2026