Undergraduate Technical Intern - Microbial Systems Dynamics

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory • Richland, WA

9d

About The Position

At PNNL, our core capabilities are divided among major departments that we refer to as Directorates within the Lab, focused on a specific area of scientific research or other function, with its own leadership team and dedicated budget.
Our Science & Technology directorates include National Security, Earth and Biological Sciences, Physical and Computational Sciences, and Energy and Environment. In addition, we have an Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, a Department of Energy, Office of Science user facility housed on the PNNL campus.
The Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate (EBSD) leads critical research in four areas: Atmospheric, Climate & Earth Sciences, Biological Sciences, Environmental Molecular Sciences, and Global Change. Our vision is to develop a predictive understanding of biological and Earth systems in transition. We aim to understand energy and material flows within the integrated Earth system; to understand, predict, and control the response of biosystems to environmental and/or genomic changes; and to Model the Earth system from the subsurface to the atmosphere.
The Biological Sciences Division has 17 collaborative, interdisciplinary biology-based teams to tackle major challenges in ecosystem sustainability, bioenergy, human health, and national security. Teams use unique field sites, advanced instrumentation, and integrated computational approaches to explore molecular-scale processes. Strategic efforts focus on advancing molecular measurement capabilities, uncovering the structure and function of molecular dark matter, identifying control points in complex systems, and developing domain-aware AI to accelerate discovery and hypothesis-driven research.
This position will support the Multiscale System Science Group’s Strategic Scientific Objective on identifying control points for manipulating multiscale systems. The Multiscale Systems Science Group is seeking an undergraduate student research technician to support research programs in microbiome science (broadly defined) in the highly collaborative environment at PNNL.
This position includes both operational and research responsibilities. Primary operational responsibilities will include maintaining lab safety, coordinating equipment maintenance and vendor visits, excessing unused equipment and supplies, and supporting the coordination of laboratory and equipment moves and reorganizations.
Research laboratory support will include washing glassware, autoclaving biological waste, ordering chemicals and lab supplies, cleaning and maintaining incubators, water baths, and other laboratory equipment. It will also include general upkeep of common use lab areas, refilling reagent stock bottles, etc. Work will involve use of automated dishwashers and autoclaves and potentially corrosive cleaning agents. Tasks may expand to provide as-needed research support including preparation of reagents and cell culture media, learning general molecular protocols such as culturing cells, preparing cell lysates, and performing nucleic acid/protein extractions.

Requirements

• Candidates must have a high school diploma /GED or higher
• Candidates must be degree-seeking undergraduate students enrolled at an accredited college or university
• Candidates must be taking at least 6 credit hours and have an overall cumulative GPA of 2.50.
• Must be able to lift 20 lbs. routinely and up to 50 lbs. on an occasional basis.
• Candidate will be required to complete laboratory safety training and maintain a commitment to PNNL’s safe conduct of research (SCoR) principles.

Nice To Haves

• Preferred areas of study include the sciences (biology, chemistry or related field) with a strong interest in business operations.
• Must be detail oriented, able to work with minimal supervision, possess strong communication skills and able to work in a team environment.

Responsibilities

• Maintaining lab safety
• Coordinating equipment maintenance and vendor visits
• Excessing unused equipment and supplies
• Supporting the coordination of laboratory and equipment moves and reorganizations
• Washing glassware
• Autoclaving biological waste
• Ordering chemicals and lab supplies
• Cleaning and maintaining incubators, water baths, and other laboratory equipment
• General upkeep of common use lab areas
• Refilling reagent stock bottles
• Preparation of reagents and cell culture media
• Learning general molecular protocols such as culturing cells, preparing cell lysates, and performing nucleic acid/protein extractions

Benefits

• Employees are offered an employee assistance program and business travel insurance.
• Employees are eligible for the company funded pension plan and 401k savings plan, once eligibility requirements are met.

What This Job Offers

• Career Level: Intern
• Education Level: High school or GED
• Number of Employees: 1,001-5,000 employees