Molecular Diagnostic Associate

Oncodea • Saint Paul, MN

6d

About The Position

Are you a recent college graduate or early-career scientist looking to make a difference in the fight against cancer?
Oncodea is seeking a passionate and driven Molecular Diagnostic Associate to join our team and help advance our mission of making early cancer detection accessible and affordable for everyone.
In this role you will work closely with our executive leadership and founders, who bring deep expertise in molecular diagnostics, nanophotonic sensing, bioinformatics, and cancer research. You will be an integral part of the team advancing our proprietary blood-based cancer detection platform, clinical sample operations, and data capture and management.
We understand that not every candidate will have every skill listed below. We value willingness to learn and grow as Oncodea continues to expand. This position spans general R&D lab duties, innovative problem-solving, data accumulation, and data analysis and presentation.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in chemistry, biochemistry, molecular biology, immunology, medical laboratory sciences, biophysics, molecular diagnostics, or a related discipline.
• One or more years of combined experience across academic research labs, biotech industry, or biotech startups (internships and undergraduate research count).
• Strong analytical skills and scientific curiosity.
• Meticulous attention to detail.
• Exceptional laboratory notebook and documentation habits.
• Strong written and verbal communication and presentation skills.
• Strong time-management skills and the ability to juggle multiple parallel tasks.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel; working familiarity with Python and/or R for data handling.
• Exposure to bioinformatics or data-science workflows.
• Willingness to work in a fast-paced, dynamic, lean-startup environment.
• Comfort working in BSL-2 and/or clean-room environments following appropriate safety practices.
• Hands-on familiarity with basic molecular biology techniques, including nucleic acid purification and RNA analysis.

Nice To Haves

• Familiarity with machine learning or large, high-dimensional datasets.
• Experience with molecular sample preparation and analysis, or other proteomic or transcriptomic platforms.
• Database management, schema design, or data-visualization experience.
• Project-management skills or prior use of tools such as Asana, Jira, Trello, or Notion.
• Prior exposure to CLIA, CAP, FDA, or ISO quality frameworks.
• Military service, non-traditional career paths, or other diverse professional backgrounds. Oncodea values your unique experiences.

Responsibilities

• Assist with molecular pattern analysis on a large set of human biospecimens using our nanophotonic detection platform.
• Catalog and maintain the clinical sample database; support sample accessioning, tracking, and chain-of-custody documentation.
• Process biospecimens (serum, plasma, and related) and ensure proper aliquoting, labeling, and long-term storage consistent with IRB and HIPAA requirements.
• Handle general lab operations: ordering, inventory, reagent qualification, equipment logs, and safety/waste management.
• Follow and help draft SOPs for molecular biology and analytical workflows; contribute to continuous process improvement.
• Maintain detailed, audit-ready laboratory notebooks and electronic records (GDP / ALCOA+).
• Run routine molecular pattern acquisition and QC; help refine and troubleshoot the analytical workflow.
• Support clinical study execution and CLIA-LDT lab setup, including sample kitting, shipment, and receipt verification with external sites.
• Assist with basic RNA and protein analysis as needed to support research projects.
• Perform introductory bioinformatics and data-science tasks: data inspection, QC dashboards, and reproducible analysis scripts.

Benefits

• Competitive salary commensurate with experience and credentials.
• PTO, paid holidays, and healthcare benefits.
• Meaningful opportunities for professional growth, mentorship, and scientific authorship.
• A chance to build your early career at the cutting edge of AI-native molecular and nanophotonic diagnostics alongside a mission-driven team.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level