E11 Bio - Scientist I/II, Expansion Microscopy

Convergent Research•Alameda, CA

2d•Onsite

About The Position

E11 Bio seeks a mission-aligned scientist or engineer to develop and improve expansion microscopy as part of its sample production pipeline for scalable brain mapping. The role combines sample preparation, advanced microscopy, quantitative image analysis, and engineering-driven technology development. The scientist will work across molecular biology, imaging, and computational teams to produce high-quality specimens and improve gel performance, sample quality, reproducibility, and production scalability. The position involves hands-on experimental work as well as defining quantitative measures of gel mechanical and optical properties, image quality, and pipeline throughput. The successful candidate will iteratively troubleshoot, standardize, and automate protocols. Within six months, the role is expected to generate high-quality gels consistently, establish and integrate expansion microscopy quality-control metrics, and increase gel yield by 50% without reducing quality. Within 12 months, the scientist is expected to improve pipeline quality, reproducibility, and scalability, reduce technical variability by 50%, and reduce hands-on protocol time.

Requirements

Ph.D. in biology, chemistry, bioengineering, materials science, mechanical engineering, or a related field, or equivalent research or industry experience.
Strong track record of end-to-end experimental ownership.
Experience developing methods or protocols, ideally involving hydrogel chemistry, expansion microscopy, immunohistochemistry, or tissue processing.
Excellent communication and collaboration skills.
Strong record-keeping practices and attention to reproducibility.

Nice To Haves

Experience with advanced optical microscopy modalities, such as spinning-disc confocal or light-sheet microscopy.
Experience designing or applying quantitative scoring systems for expansion microscopy or imaging data.
Experience scaling expansion microscopy throughput in routine production environments.
Experience automating laboratory workflows, such as using liquid handlers, Arduino or Raspberry Pi microcontrollers, or Python scripting.
Experience working in fast-paced, startup-like research environments where roles span multiple technical domains.

Responsibilities

Independently design, coordinate, and execute bench-level experiments focused on expansion microscopy.
Operate within the sample production pipeline to ensure a continuous flow of high-quality gels.
Iteratively optimize expansion microscopy workflows by designing, sourcing, and adapting techniques and methodologies from literature and the scientific community.
Pilot variations of expansion microscopy protocols to optimize signal retention across multiple rounds of immunostaining, imaging, and signal extinction.
Pilot methods to increase diffusion within expanded hydrogel/tissue hybrids.
Pilot commercially available devices, such as ultrasound or microwave devices, and design custom-built devices in collaboration with external vendors.
Collaborate with experimental and computational scientists to design experiments, analyze data, and interpret results.
Maintain excellent laboratory notebook practices and communicate results through reports and presentations.
Contribute to and assist with preparing manuscripts, abstracts, and other scientific documents.
Identify and standardize expansion microscopy quality-control metrics and stage-gate thresholds, and integrate routine measurement into the pipeline.
Improve the quality, reproducibility, scalability, throughput, and physical sample sizes handled by the pipeline.
Reduce hands-on protocol time, for example through in-house automation development or automation partnerships.