Careers

At FlexMedical Solutions (FMS), everyone is encouraged to speak up and to share their ideas and concerns – we want everyone in the team to feel empowered to do so.

Developing and manufacturing point of care diagnostics is an important business, and we take our role very seriously. That said, we must make the most of our time at work, given we spend almost 50% of our waking hours working! As such, we have strived to create a warm and friendly environment that fosters innovation and high performance, whilst making all our teammates feel valued and at ease. Having fun and enjoying what we do is very important, and whilst we know it’s not possible to achieve this 100% of the time, we work hard to have a positive vibe.

FMS is a scaling company. This means that our policies and procedures continue to evolve as we grow. It is important that new recruits come ready and prepared for the journey, as our people will experience frequent periods of change in response to our ambitious plans for growth. Ensuring we bring the right people onboard is critical to us, as such we put a lot of emphasis on our candidate selection and hiring. Matching an individual to FMS is key for the continued wellbeing of both parties.

Twice a year, all employees have a FlexMedical Annual Review, known internally as ‘Go-FAR’. Go-FAR is designed to help maximise individual and company performance and identifies development opportunities. Importantly, it also offers the opportunity for feedback to be shared and action plans to be created. The company has been described as passionate, hardworking, open, encouraging, invested, approachable and empowering by colleagues across all departments.

We don’t like barriers at FMS, so we took a purposeful decision to plan the office area without private offices, regardless of roles performed. Irrespective of role or job title, your workspace will appear similar and expectations consistent to your neighbours.

Regular communication with our employees is very important to maintain high levels of engagement and ensure employees feel involved and informed. Aside from regular informal communication that goes on, a monthly ‘business update meeting’ is held on the first Monday of the month. Everyone is invited to attend this, and the range of content shared varies from project updates to health & safety briefs, to Christmas party plans. The level of information shared is something we see as a differentiator – we are a ‘no surprises’ organisation and keep people as informed as we can. The rate of change can make this a little difficult at times, so we welcome and encourage our people to ask questions at any time.

FMS welcomes diversity. We are a business focused on delivery and performance and have no time for discrimination of any kind. Diversity adds richness to the tapestry of what we do and who we are. Indeed, this can be evidenced by the wonderful array of talented individuals working for us!

They say variety is the spice of life, and that’s particularly relevant when you look across our current product development portfolio. We are actively engaged in the development of diagnostic solutions for clients all over the world from Asia through Europe to North America and Australia. We embrace the opportunity to collaborate with teams displaying a wide range of experiences and cultures.

We are considered technical experts in the design, development, and supply of electrochemical biosensors. We have active programs focusing on the development and supply of electrodes and further incorporation of biosensors into complete fluidic cartridges prior to optimization, validation, and launch. This technology is not only deployed in point of care (POC) diagnostics but also utilized in continuous monitoring sensing for human IVD and non-medical settings such as agri-food and environmental.

We don’t stop at electrochemistry; we also develop fluorescent solutions for clients. We have significant experience in enzyme-driven chemiluminescent systems and enzyme-driven electrochemical systems for cardiac markers such as BNP and Troponin.

We can offer this broad range of technical services because of our immediate experience and our combined historical experience as a team. The team has held senior roles in several high profile global diagnostic companies, which spans the complete range of disease states, from diabetes and coagulation to cardiac and tumor markers.

Our clients engage FlexMedical Solutions at different stages in their Development and GoTo Market life cycles, where we rapidly evaluate the maturity of the technology and advise as to the quickest and most cost effective pathway to launch. To ensure this we utilize best practice project management processes such as bone-on-bone planning, daily management, visual project management and tracking progress by measuring the burn down of technical risk.

Some people might describe FlexMedical Solutions (FMS) as a ‘bootstrapped startup’.

Given that the company was founded entirely on capital provided by the founders, the description is technically accurate. As a contract, service providing business the value was always going to come courtesy of increasing revenues, coupled with healthy profits and a positive balance sheet.

Few starts up can claim to be profitable from the get-go, but FMS has been profitable in every year of trading thus far, and re-investing profits continues to be at the heart of our success.

Incorporated in December 2014, the founders acquired certain (tangible) assets from a previous employer. Having no premises, said assets were immediately shipped to storage and our short-term focus was on pulling in capital to fund the next phase. 2015 consisted mainly of consulting, identifying potential premises, and starting to target clients. Consultancy assignments stretched from Glasgow to San Diego and the required funds were accumulated. The year ended with us identifying premises in Livingston, West Lothian.

On April 1st, 2016, we moved into our first premises, 2500sq/ft of office, lab and manufacturing space. Our equipment was retrieved from storage and FMS was go! FMS exhibited at our first ever trade show (MEDICA in Germany) and it all started to feel very real. We began pulling in small pieces of bespoke work (mainly electrode production) and the sound of our drying tunnel became music to our ears, as the drone of the dryer meant revenue generation.

2017 seen us grow the team to 5, win a SMART grant and investing the first of our profits in upgraded screen printing, drying and converting equipment. Our customer base was growing nicely, and our network of established contacts was really helping us. When it comes to contracting, reputation is everything. Point of care (POC) diagnostics is a small industry and relationships are not to be taken lightly.

The business continued to gain traction and within a short time we started to run out of space. To deal with our space issue we embarked on our first expansion in 2018, effectively doubling our lab and manufacturing space and allowing us to service new clients from North America and Europe.

We continued to grow and in 2019 we doubled our turnover and benefited further from a significant level of capital investment. By this stage, the team had increased to 10, and a brand refresh, courtesy of some focused marketing activities, took place, looking at our customer value proposition, mission and vision.

Up until this stage, FMS was predominately an engineering and manufacturing business. However, in 2020 that was about to change. We secured some grant funding to help us build a highly competent scientific group. Despite a world pandemic, the R&D side of the business began to flourish. Our second expansion took place, providing us with the ability to manufacture reagents in bulk scale. We secured a long-term contract with an exciting client – becoming their primary partner for full assay development.

By the end of 2021 our team was over 30 strong. We had purchased and fitted out another building (our third expansion), enabling us to dedicate some 3000sq/ft to laboratory space. Significant increases in turnover allowed us to invest seven figures in state-of-the-art technologies and position ourselves as a global leader in POC In Vitro Diagnostic contracting.

You’ll get a warm welcome in Livingston!

Since its birth, Livingston has grown and grown and is now the largest town in West Lothian, offering a range of housing, work opportunities, amenities, and other attractions appealing to all.

Situated to the north of the Pentland Hills within Scotland’s central belt area, we are located approximately 13 miles from Edinburgh, and around 40 miles from Glasgow. Livingston is served well by road links and public transport, so is easily accessible and offers an attractive commute for many workers.

Connected by a great transport network that includes the M8, the journey to and from Livingston is straightforward. There are two train stations, North, and South, providing links from Edinburgh and Glasgow, including many small towns and villages along the way. FlexMedical is within 15-20 minutes walking distance of Livingston North train station. If bus is your thing, there’s a choice of First Bus and Lothian Country Buses. More locally, Livingston has lots of cycle paths and walkways, making all areas easily accessible by bike or foot. And whilst you are not likely to be commuting to work by plane, it’s good to know that come holiday time, if jetting off to the sun, or wherever your destination of choice is, that we have the pick of two international airports. Edinburgh Airport is a mere 15 minutes’ drive from Livingston.

With a population of approximately 66,000, there is a range of housing to suit all, from new builds to more traditional housing stock within the immediate area. House prices are highly competitive and with so many great amenities in and around the area, it is no wonder that many people make Livingston their base.

Nestled in an ideal location within Lothian County, we have some amazing nature and beauty spots on our doorstep. There’s plenty for all to enjoy locally including Almondvale Country Park, with its scenic river walks, Almondell & Calderwood Country Park and Beecraigs Country Park.

Further, there’s a great mix of educational establishments, hospitality, entertainment offerings, sports and leisure facilities, eateries, religious and community hubs, and let’s not forget (for the shopaholics among you), the excellent shopping at Livingston Centre and nearby Designer Outlet, which is Scotland’s largest such outlet. The great range of choice and free car parking attracts shoppers from all over the central belt area.

If you’re new to the area, Livingston offers so much more besides, including a rich diversity of employers from manufacturing through to hi tech and new technologies.

Why don’t you come and see for yourself!

“Since joining FMS as a Manufacturing Technician, I have fitted in well with my team and the job role. I am enjoying the challenges of working within a fast-growing medical device company, that develops products that will improve peoples’ lives…. Best decision I have made.”
Carolyn Thomson – Manufacturing Technician

“FlexMedical Solutions gives you lots of opportunities to work with people with different chemistry and manufacturing backgrounds at all levels in the company.  It is a very collaborative environment where you can still make your mark and have ownership of experiments you run.”
Victoria Thomson – Product Development Technician