Our mission is to engineer microbes for Mars. Biology is the ultimate green technology, capable of upcycling waste into food, water, and air: all the essentials for human life. However, today it is too unreliable, untested, and wasteful to be a mission-critical technology. That’s why we’re engineering hardy critters that perform gracefully even in the extreme conditions of space. By doing so, we aim to make biomanufacturing ubiquitous, reliable, and green — on Earth and beyond. We are a nonprofit research organization based in San Francisco, California. We do moonshot marsshot science with an agile, startup-like team.

Job Description - Pioneer Labs - Research Associate

About Pioneer Labs

Pioneer Labs is a startup engineering life for Mars. We are building the first microbes that can turn Martian dirt, water, and air into the building materials needed to sustain life in the low-resource environment of the red planet. Along the way, we use data-driven biological engineering to study the fundamental science of extremophiles and uncover how their remarkable abilities are encoded in DNA. Our goal is to advance the science that enables a green human civilization—on Earth and beyond.

We are a nonprofit research startup based in Emeryville, California. We do moonshot marsshot science with an agile, startup-esque team. See pioneer-labs.org to learn more, or visit https://blog.pioneer-labs.org to read more about our science.

Research Associate

Pioneer is seeking a Research Associate to join the team and engineer microbes for Mars. We are looking for a junior team member who is meticulous, excited to run evolution and functional genomics experiments, and eager to learn!

Key responsibilities

Microbiology and Molecular biology work:

• Performing a wide range of routine and specialized microbiology and molecular biology protocols including PCR, molecular plasmid cloning, DNA isolation and sequencing, and plate reader growth assays
• Conducting evolution and functional genomics experiments
• 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
• Recording data, maintaining a detailed electronic laboratory notebook

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

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 one year 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

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

Salary and benefits

Pioneer Labs takes a market-based approach to compensation. We benchmark salaries based on equivalents in for-profit biotech startups. The candidate's starting pay will be determined based on job-related skills, experience, qualifications, and interview performance. The anticipated base salary range for this role is $70k - $95k/year.

In addition, 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
• Employer-matched 401(k) plan