Research Associate - Cell Biology

Here at Berkeley Lights, we think cells are awesome! Cells are capable of manufacturing cures for diseases, fibers for clothing, energy in the form of biofuels, and food proteins for nutrition. So the question is, if nature is capable of manufacturing the products we need in a scalable way, why aren't we doing more of this? Well, the answer is that with the solutions available today, it is hard. It takes a long time to find the right cell for a specific job, costs lots of money, and if you have picked a suboptimal cell line, has a very low process yield. Berkeley Lights has the complete solution to find the best cells by functionally screening and recovering individual cells for antibody discovery, cell line development, T cell analysis, and synthetic biology. Our proprietary technology and Beacon® and LightningTM systems accelerate the rate researchers can discover and develop cell-based products in a fraction of the time and at a fraction of the cost of conventional, legacy research methods. Using our tools and solutions, scientists can find the best cells, the first time they look.

Our goal is to continue to collaborate with customers to drive the adoption of our technologies, making cell-based products and therapeutics more easily accessible the world over! You will play a major role here and our success depends on you! We have been changing how the world develops cell-based products since 2011, and now our family of around 250 employees welcomes you to consider joining us on this incredible journey.

Berkeley Lights is recruiting a Research Associate, Cell Biology to join our Life Sciences R&D team to work in collaboration with instrument and software engineers as we scale down biology workflows to the single cell level using our platforms to achieve high throughput, automated solutions for assay development. The candidate will work closely with our research and applications development teams to build upon our current capabilities and transition biology workflows to the nanoscale. The ideal candidate will have strong troubleshooting skills, enjoy being at the bench and creating new reagents assays and protocols. As well as having the ability to collaborate on inventing and quickly diverging from established protocols to generate iterative, novel solutions to complex and fun challenges. Are you the kind of biologist that excels at learning and becoming an expert in new systems quickly?

Responsibilities:

• Work within the R&D team to design & development novel cell-based assays under the supervision of and in collaboration with lead scientists
• Primary cell isolation from tissues, optimization of protocols and media formulation
• Cell culture maintenance and management: intake, banking, inventory, growth & QC.
• Analytical characterization of cells by FACS, ELISA
• Cell/reagent ordering and preparation for internal development team.
• Antibody characterization through immunological assays such as ELISA assays, FACS, etc.
• Detailed documentation and presentation of protocols & data.
• Ability to multitask and work within timelines.
• Equipment & instrument maintenance, and some lab organization and management.

Required Qualifications:

• B.S. with 2-4 years of cell biology experience in a research lab (BSL1 & BSL2) or MS with 1-2 years of research lab experience.
• Proficiency in cell culture techniques with excellent aseptic technique.
• Familiarity with cell biology tools and concepts, such as: multicolor flow cytometry, fluorescent microscopy, MACS, ELISA.
• Strong attention to details and impeccable organizational and documentation skills.
• Outstanding verbal and written communication skills to clearly articulate ideas.
• Excellent collaborative and interpersonal skills to work in a team and to communicate well with scientists and engineers from diverse backgrounds.
• Can work confidently in a fast-paced start-up work environment.
• Self-starter with ambition to grow along with the company.

Preferred Skills & Experience

• Preference for individuals with experience doing cell culture in a regulated environment (cGxP).
• Experience working in antibody discovery or cell line development plus
• DNA/RNA isolation, PCR and a working knowledge of molecular biology and genetics is desirable.
• Cell culture media development and optimization.
• Ability to work in high pace environment, with rapid experimental design iterations and short timelines
• A team first attitude and ability to function well in a matrixed organization
• Proficient data analysis skills; experience with data-mining software (e.g. Tableau, Spotfire) is desired.

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