Research Associate, Rodent Surgery & Behavior

Astera Institute•Emerybille, CA

84d•Onsite

About The Position

Astera Neuro is a philanthropically funded research organization within the Astera Institute, dedicated to deciphering and writing the neural codes underlying perception, thought, behavior, and internal state. We are assembling a founding team of experimental neuroscientists, computational scientists, and engineers to build the necessary tools for this research, from recording and interface hardware to software and computational methods. We aim to study neural activity at unprecedented scale, with direct promise for treating neurological and psychiatric disease. We pursue high-risk, high-reward science in a collaborative, well-resourced environment and share our tools, data, and discoveries openly under Astera's Open Science Policy. This position is for a Research Associate to join Astera Neuro's rodent neuroscience team, focusing on surgical preparations and behavior training for an all-optical program studying working memory in the mouse cortex. The role involves aseptic survival surgery, chronic cranial-window and headbar implantation, behavior training, rig maintenance, colony management, and record-keeping, all performed under IACUC-approved protocols to AAALAC standards with a strong emphasis on animal welfare and scientific quality.

Requirements

Current, hands-on experience performing mouse survival surgery, including chronic cranial-window implantation, headbar installation, and stereotaxic viral injections.
A track record of consistently healthy, long-lived surgical preparations.
Meticulous, skilled hands and the ability to sustain high-quality work at volume.
Willingness to be held to an engineering standard.
Comfort building on shared infrastructure rather than private projects.
Care for the animals. Healthy, well-handled, calm mice are the foundation of both the science and its credibility.
Commitment to open science.

Nice To Haves

Head-fixed behavior-training experience, ideally with working-memory or sequence tasks.
Scripting in Python and familiarity with Bonsai and Harp or comparable behavior-control tools.
Experience building and maintaining behavior rigs, including lickport and other custom hardware.
Experience with two-photon imaging or optogenetic stimulation in awake mice.
Colony management experience and comfort coordinating with vivarium staff.

Responsibilities

Perform mouse survival surgeries under aseptic technique and IACUC-approved protocols: stereotaxic AAV viral-vector delivery, chronic cranial-window implantation, and headbar installation.
Run head-fixed behavior training on the sequence working-memory task, including daily training, data collection, and rig upkeep.
Build and maintain behavior rigs, including Bonsai and Harp control and lickport hardware.
Run the mouse colony and coordinate animal sourcing, health, and readiness with the vivarium and veterinary staff.
Keep careful, shared records of surgeries, training histories, and preparation quality so that others can build on the work and the program stays compliant.
Work closely with the scientists running the all-optical experiments to keep preparation, imaging, and perturbation tightly coupled.