Research Associate I
$70,000–$85,000 year
On-siteBoston, Massachusetts, United States
Job Summary
Process wastewater and nasal swab samples through concentration, extraction, and quantification, while supporting molecular workflows including library prep, particularly on weekends. Maintain rigorous documentation in the electronic laboratory notebook, follow SOPs, and flag workflow issues or suggest improvements. Manage lab operations by maintaining clean spaces, supporting equipment upkeep and calibration, and coordinating reagent inventory and vendor deliveries. Ensure accurate metadata and sample tracking for clean handoffs to the computational team, while troubleshooting issues and escalating to senior staff as needed. This on-site role in SecureBio's Detection team helps scale biosurveillance capacity and supports the transition to lab automation.
Required Qualifications
- A Bachelor's degree in a life sciences field
- 2+ years of hands-on wet-lab experience
- Hands-on experience with sample processing
- Hands-on experience with PCR
- Hands-on experience with nucleic acid extraction and quantification
- Experience with data entry in an electronic laboratory notebook
- Demonstrated ability to follow laboratory protocols carefully and capture rigorous, organised notes
- Strong organisational skills
- Attention to detail
- Willingness to take on operational and lab upkeep tasks alongside the scientific work
- A proactive mindset: comfort speaking up, flagging issues, and suggesting improvements to workflows
- The ability to work collaboratively
- The ability to take direction well
- The ability to communicate clearly across a small team
- On-site in Cambridge, Massachusetts
- Five days per week on-site
- One weekend day
Desired Qualifications
- Some experience or familiarity working with RNA
- Exposure to short- and/or long-read sequencing workflows
- Exposure to NGS sample processing and library preparation
- Experience working with viruses
- Familiarity with inventory, ordering, or sample tracking systems
- Experience with environmental or complex samples such as wastewater or nasal swabs
- Exposure to liquid handling automation or high-throughput lab environments
- General awareness of metagenomic or pathogen surveillance applications
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