Job Description - Pioneer Labs - Microbiology Research Associate

Pioneer labs is engineering the first microbes that will be used on Mars. We are building an engineering platform that allows us to cultivate hearty critters that can grow robustly even in extreme conditions. We aim for this research to make biomanufacturing ubiquitous, reliable, and green — on Earth and beyond.

To do so, Pioneer is building a platform for polyextremophile microbial engineering. Our approach is to combine functional genomics and robotics accelerated evolution to rapidly engineer microbes that are tailored to suit harsh, unusual conditions found in biomanufacturing.

We are a nonprofit startup based in San Francisco, California. We do marsshot science with an agile, startup-esque team. Pioneer is incubated at the Astera Institute, and is a pilot project of Align to Innovate.

Research Associate Role

Pioneer is seeking a Research Associate to join the team as Employee #4 and establish our platform for polyextremophile microbe engineering.

Key responsibilities

Molecular biology work:

• Performing a wide range of routine and specialised microbiology and molecular biology protocols including PCR, molecular plasmid cloning, DNA isolation and sequencing, and plate reader growth assays
• Recording data, maintaining a detailed electronic laboratory notebook
• Working with non-model microbes. This includes modifying existing methods or developing new techniques to improve accuracy, efficiency, or sensitivity; or to overcome difficulties in dealing with specific systems or microorganisms

• Conducting data analysis and presentation; preparing and delivering research presentations

Laboratory operations:

• Maintaining inventory of laboratory reagents and supplies
• Assisting with producing in-house stocks of media and competent cells and conducting QC on these stocks
• Assisting with administrative tasks including helping to maintain logs, laboratory procurement

Requirements

Key experience and competencies 

Essential 

Essential qualifications, experience and competencies:

Technical:

• Associate’s, Bachelor’s or similar degree in bioengineering, molecular biology or similar 
• At least two years of hands-on laboratory experience with molecular biology (cloning, recombinant protein production) and next-generation sequencing
• Experience with  molecular cloning techniques including DNA construct design, PCR, and gel electrophoresis
• General use of standard lab equipment including pH-meters, balances, autoclaves, pipettes
• Proficiency with aseptic technique for bacterial cell culture
• Previous experience with collecting scientific data and computer analysis (use of Excel and/or GraphPad Prism)
• Experience working in prokaryotes

Interpersonal:

• Excellent interpersonal skills and a willingness to learn new skills and teach these to others
• Understanding of basic laboratory safety procedures
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills and organizational skills Attention to detail is imperative for this position. A well-organized lab notebook must be maintained at all times 
• Ability to think critically and employ scientific problem-solving and troubleshooting

Desirable

Qualifications, experience and competencies:

• Experience with laboratory management
• Experience with programming (R or Python)
• Experience with directed evolution and strain engineering
• Experience using laboratory automation, e.g. Hamilton Star, Beckman Echo, etc
• Experience working in single-celled eukaryotes and/or non-model microbes

Benefits

Pioneer Labs takes a market-based approach to compensation. The candidate's starting pay will be determined based on job-related skills, experience, qualifications, and interview performance. We benchmark salaries based on equivalents in for-profit biotech startups.

We offer benefits including: 

• Health Insurance (inc. medical, dental, and vision) for employee and dependents
• Family leave (up to 12 weeks)
• A flexible time off policy
• 403(b) plan