Daniel Gardner

Senior Chemistry Automation Engineer at Recursion

Greater Oxford Area

About

I operate at the intersection of automated chemistry and the informatics making it happen. ​Within Recursion’s Chemistry Automation team, I focus on advancing autonomous synthesis through robotics and bespoke software architecture. I lead the initiatives that allow our platforms to make real-time, branched decisions as samples move through complex workflows. I have a proven track record of proposing, designing and implementing in-house software that outperforms and replaces commercial solutions, to drive efficiency and technical independence. Outside of the lab: I am an international pole vaulter with a PB of 5.40m.

Experience

  • Recursion (On-site)
    • Senior Chemistry Automation Engineer 2
      May 2026 - Present · 2 mos

    • Senior Separation and Purification Scientist 2
      Nov 2024 - May 2026 · 1 yr 7 mos

  • Exscientia (Full-time · 2 yrs 6 mos)
    • Senior Separation and Purification Scientist 2
      Oct 2024 - Nov 2024 · 2 mos

    • Senior Separation and Purification Scientist
      Jun 2022 - Oct 2024 · 2 yrs 5 mos

  • Separation / Purification Scientist at GSK
    Apr 2020 - May 2022 · 2 yrs 2 mos

  • Eli Lilly and Company (Full-time · 4 yrs 8 mos)
    • Team Leader
      Mar 2018 - Apr 2020 · 2 yrs 2 mos

      Team leader of a hard-working, enthusiastic team providing an analytical service to Medicinal Chemistry, I constantly worked with an emphasis on core values and behaviours as well as continual learning and development for team members. This service included: Setup, troubleshooting and maintenance of open access analytical instrumentation including HPLC-MS (analytical and preparative), NMR, GC-MS, SFC-MS to ensure suitability and availability for medicinal chemists in a 'walk up' environment. Provision of a high throughput achiral purification service making use of SFC-MS, RP HPLC-MS and NP/RP Flash-MS to ensure the most appropriate purification conditions are used for each individual sample. Specialised SFC purification and analysis, including chiral method development, e.e. determination and chiral purifications by SFC from a few milligrams up to a multi-kilogram scale. Sample and reagent management services including managing local reagent inventory and shipping samples from chemistry and biology to other sites and external parties worldwide.

    • Analytical Technologist
      Sep 2015 - Mar 2018 · 2 yrs 7 mos

      Always looking to learn and improve, I provided a variety of analytical chemistry services during my time at Lilly: An expert in open access HPLC-MS set-up, suitability testing, maintenance, troubleshooting and repairs. Improved and expanded upon existing automated system suitability testing procedures for open access HPLC, GC, SFC and NMR instruments, using KNIME and Spotfire. Consistently achieved high quality and fast turnaround when providing many successful chiral and achiral purifications by SFC, of up to multiple kilograms of material. Oversaw efficient and continuous HPLC-MS QC screening of up to 25000 library compounds per month. Ensured increased throughout by maximising instrument uptime and automating sequence generation and data analysis.