Senior Research Associate, Molecular Engineering (Fixed-Term Contract)

Arc Institute•Palo Alto, CA

25d•$84,250 - $106,000•Onsite

About The Position

We are seeking a highly skilled and motivated Senior Research Associate to join the Molecular Engineering team within the Genome Engineering Technology Center at Arc to support the routine execution of arrayed and pooled genetic perturbation screens in disease-relevant, human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC)-derived microglia. In this position, you will facilitate core workflows across the team's genetic perturbation screening pipelines, including stem cell culture, HPC/microglia differentiation, and viral transduction. You will support a range of downstream screening and validation efforts, gaining broad exposure to the end-to-end pipelines that power the Institute's Alzheimer's Disease Initiative, an ambitious cross-functional effort aimed at identifying and developing drugs for rational therapeutic targets to combat devastating neurodegenerative disorders. The ideal candidate will have experience and proficient skills in stem cell culture and functional characterization of perturbed cells, with expertise in implementing, running, and troubleshooting workflows with outstanding attention to detail. This is an excellent opportunity for a highly motivated and curious researcher interested in helping translate genomic insights into therapeutic strategies by contributing to a pioneering platform that has the potential to transform our understanding and treatment of Alzheimer's disease and related disorders. This will be a fixed-term, 12-month position and will be based onsite 5 days a week in Palo Alto. This role is not eligible for visa sponsorship.

Requirements

BS degree in relevant field with 4+ years of relevant experience, or MS degree in relevant field with 2+ years of relevant postgraduate experience.
Relevant lab experience including demonstrated and proficient skills for stem cell and progenitor cell culturing and routine characterization.
Experience running and analyzing flow cytometry experiments, including familiarity with running multi-color panels, immunostaining experiments, and FlowJo analyses.
Experience with LIMS systems, ideally Benchling
Detail-oriented with excellent organizational and time management skills.
Strong oral and written communication skills.
Ability to multitask, willingness to learn, and work in a highly collaborative environment.
Work onsite in our Palo Alto office 5 days per week.

Nice To Haves

Industry experience is desirable but not required.
Experience differentiating hPSCs into neural or immune lineages; microglia differentiation experience highly desirable.
Experience with plate-based or automation-compatible screening workflows.
Familiarity with CRISPR-Cas9 or other genome editing or genetic perturbation techniques, with hands-on experience functionally characterizing genetically modified cells.
Proficiency and experience with molecular cloning, virus production, and cell line engineering.

Responsibilities

Execute routine stem cell culture and differentiation protocols.
Conduct and optimize medium- to high-throughput lentiviral transduction-based experiments to introduce arrayed genetic perturbations into engineered cell lines.
Leverage in vitro cell-based assays (flow cytometry, imaging, immunostaining, etc.) and molecular biology techniques to characterize the functional activity of genetically perturbed cells before and after differentiation into relevant cell types.
Support the cross-functional execution of arrayed and pooled genetic perturbation screens for the Alzheimer’s Disease Initiative at Arc.
Have a systematic approach to the execution of tasks and experiments with a focus on efficiency and reproducibility.
Maintain careful records in ELN (electronic lab notebook) and organize materials and reagents with detailed tracking in our LIMS system.
Troubleshoot and identify opportunities to improve existing protocols and platform capabilities.
Analyze and present data and at internal meetings and seminars.