Russell Buckley-Taylor

Individual skills and responsibilities

As a Field Application Scientist, Russell has a talent for actively listening to customers and understanding their unique goals and needs. As an expert on the full suite of SPT Labtech's cutting-edge instruments, including firefly®, mosquito®, and dragonfly®, he is well-placed to offer the best possible solution. He works closely with customers from the start of their scientific journey with us, to deliver tailored instrument and software demonstrations and training, develop custom protocols and troubleshoot any technical difficulties, to ensure that their workflows run as efficiently and successfully as possible.

In addition to this, Russell leverages his strong customer relationships across Europe to identify opportunities to grow SPT Labtech’s knowledge base. This bank of resources, including case studies and webinars, provides valuable insights for those wanting to make their first steps towards automation, whilst providing a public platform for customers to showcase their research.

Favourite aspects of the role

There is no such thing as a ‘typical’ day for a Field Application Scientist – and that’s exactly why it piqued Russell’s interests. With large amounts of his time spent traveling to customer sites throughout the UK and Europe, collaborating with teams working across an array of scientific disciplines, every day offers the possibility to experience new things.

One of the things Russell particularly enjoys is seeing customers pushing boundaries with SPT Labtech instruments, applying their capabilities to accelerate their own unique workflows. This dynamic aspect of the role keeps things fresh and exciting, providing endless opportunities for growth and learning.

A ‘non-traditional’ career path?

After obtaining a master’s degree in systems and Synthetic Biology from Imperial College London, Russell worked as a research assistant where he gained first-hand experience of applying automation to laboratory tasks. He then chose to change careers so that he could best support his family at that time, and so trained to become a science teacher. This experience has given Russell a well-rounded skillset, including the ability to communicate clearly and effectively to non-expert audiences – something that has proven extremely useful when assisting customers new to the world of automation.

Before starting his role as Field Application Scientist, Russell was part of the Internal Application Development team at SPT Labtech. Here, he spent most of his time on firefly, SPT Labtech’s all-in-one liquid handling platform for genetics workflows, developing and optimizing standard user protocols for wide reaching applications. 

Weekends are for down time

Outside of work, Russell enjoys spending his weekends immersed in a good book or catching up with friends and family over dinner. He values quality time spent away from screens and technology.
Another thing that Russell is incredibly passionate about is advocating for the LGBTQ+ community. It is a cause close to his heart, and he enjoys participating in pride demonstrations and other activities that promote acceptance and equality for all.