Senior Research Associate, Genomics Platform

About Arc Institute

The Arc Institute is a new scientific institution conducting curiosity-driven basic science and technology development to understand and treat complex human diseases. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, Arc is an independent research organization founded on the belief that many important research programs will be enabled by new institutional models. Arc operates in partnership with Stanford University, UCSF, and UC Berkeley.

While the prevailing university research model has yielded many tremendous successes, we believe in the importance of institutional experimentation as a way to make progress. These include:

• Funding: Arc fully funds Core Investigators’ (PIs’) research groups, liberating scientists from the typical constraints of project-based external grants.
• Technology: Biomedical research has become increasingly dependent on complex tooling. Arc Technology Centers develop, optimize, and deploy rapidly advancing experimental and computational technologies in collaboration with Core Investigators. 
• Support: Arc aims to provide first-class support—operationally, financially, and scientifically—that will enable scientists to pursue long-term high risk, high reward research that can meaningfully advance progress in disease cures, including neurodegeneration, cancer, and immune dysfunction.
• Culture: We believe that culture matters enormously in science and that excellence is difficult to sustain. We aim to create a culture that is focused on scientific curiosity, a deep commitment to truth, broad ambition, and selfless collaboration.

Arc has scaled to nearly 200 people. With $650M+ in committed funding and a state of the art new lab facility in Palo Alto, Arc will continue to grow quickly in the coming years.

About the position

We are looking for a highly skilled, motivated, well-organized, and technically proficient Senior Research Associate to join our Multi-Omic Technology Center, where you’ll work at the cutting edge of genomic technologies including emerging platforms like Ultima sequencing. In this hands-on role, you’ll be instrumental in scaling Arc Institute’s genomic capabilities, working directly with world-class scientists and investigators to enable breakthrough research. You’ll have the opportunity to master multiple sequencing platforms, shape workflows that impact the entire institute, and become a go-to expert in a collaborative, innovation-driven environment. 

About you

• You love science and learning. Whether it’s gaining knowledge in new fields of scientific research or learning a new lab technique, you never stop being curious and routinely enjoy stepping out of your comfort zone to learn new things. 
• You are flexible and adaptable, eager to try new ways of tackling problems beyond the approaches with which you’re familiar while also bringing energy and curiosity to the optimization of existing approaches.
• You can work fast and are detail-oriented. You are careful and diligent about good documentation practices and keeping things organized while moving at a rapid pace.
• You show initiative and can effectively work independently while also adapting well to situations where collaboration and communication with other RAs / Scientists will bring the best results.
• You love being at the bench and are comfortable carrying out the routine execution of tasks while identifying opportunities to troubleshoot and improve bottlenecks.
• Your organizational skills enable you to manage multiple concurrent projects, and your curiosity and creativity drive you to continuous learning and innovation.

In this position, you will

• Work with both established and emerging sequencing technologies at the forefront of genomics innovation
• Scale up genomic sequencing capabilities to meet growing internal demand
• Contribute to the integration and optimization of new Ultima sequencing platforms into production-level workflows and ramp up throughput operations to reach maximum capacity across multiple instruments
• Onboard and validate new sequencing platforms, ensuring seamless process integration
• Support large institutional genomic initiatives through efficient workflow execution and quality management
• Drive continuous improvement of data integration workflows and laboratory procedures
• Expand your knowledge through exposure to multiple therapeutic areas and research applications across Arc’s diverse portfolio 
• Build your reputation as a subject matter expert in high-throughput genomics operations and platform management

Job Responsibilities

• Perform NGS library management, pool strategies, and quality evaluation; manage sequencing submissions
• Execute sequencing operations on multiple platforms and perform library preps for bulk and single-cell workflows
• Work with scientists to explore, evaluate, and run proof of concept genomics technologies and assays, and generate data
• Contribute to the implementation and optimization of LIMS system for sample tracking and data collection
• Onboard and validate new sequencing platforms and manage process integration
• Train graduate students, scientists, and junior RAs on various protocols and sequencing instruments, and help troubleshoot experiments
• Maintain an accurate and detailed laboratory documentation
• Write, update, and maintain Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
• Effectively document and communicate results
• Support routine lab activities, e.g. maintaining equipment, ordering/receiving supplies
• Perform other duties as assigned and contribute to a collaborative, high-quality lab culture
• Summarize and present results within and outside of the Genomics platform group

Requirements

• BS/MS or equivalent professional experience in genomics, molecular biology, biochemistry, biology or related field
• 5+ year(s) of relevant post-graduate experience, preferably in the biotechnology/pharmaceutical industry with at least 3 years in a clinical diagnostics, biotech or research lab setting
• Firm understanding of fundamental molecular biology concepts
• Hands-on experience with basic molecular biology and QC techniques including nucleic acid extraction, purification and quantification (using Bioanalyzer, Tapestation and Qubit), PCR/RT-PCR, qPCR.
• Extensive expertise in NGS technologies and workflows, including library preparation and sequencing (in particular the Illumina or Ultima platform)
• Experience with high-throughput molecular workflows
• Experience with LIMS/ELN systems 
• Strong organizational, documentation and analytical skills and attention to detail
• Strong drive for excellence and self - self-starter
• Demonstrated problem solving skills and ability to troubleshoot technical issues
• Strong oral and written communication skills
• Strong interpersonal skills and team player
• Ability to work with minimal to moderate supervision in a dynamic environment and under tight deadlines

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with single-cell RNA-sequencing using the 10x Genomics or other platforms
• Experience with processing mammalian cells and tissues 
• Experience with automation platforms

The base salary range for this position is $87,500 to $107,500. These amounts reflect the range of base salary that the Institute reasonably would expect to pay a new hire or internal candidate for this position. The actual base compensation paid to any individual for this position may vary depending on factors such as experience, market conditions, education/training, skill level, and whether the compensation is internally equitable, and does not include bonuses, commissions, differential pay, other forms of compensation, or benefits. This position is also eligible to receive an annual discretionary bonus, with the amount dependent on individual and institute performance factors.