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Flow Cytometry Specialist

Palo Alto, CA

About Arc Institute

Arc Institute is an independent nonprofit research organization at the interface of artificial intelligence and biology, working to accelerate scientific progress and understand the root causes of complex diseases. Founded in 2021 and based in Palo Alto, Arc partners with Stanford University, UC Berkeley, and UC San Francisco.

Unlike academia, our scientists have long-term funding and industry-like resources. Unlike industry, they're free to pursue high-risk, long-term research without commercial pressures. Arc's Technology Centers and Core Investigator labs work side by side, integrating experimental and computational biology under one roof to tackle problems neither could solve alone.

Our two Institute Initiatives reflect this model in action:

  • Virtual Cell Initiative: Building a full-stack virtual cell model to identify disease mechanisms and nominate drug targets,  accelerating the path from biological insight to clinical trials.
  • Alzheimer's Disease Initiative: Mapping the genes, pathways, and environmental factors behind Alzheimer's disease to develop drug candidates that address root causes.

More than 300 Arconauts work together at our Palo Alto headquarters, backed by substantial long-term philanthropic funding.

About the position

In this vital role, you will have the opportunity to shape the future of the flow cytometry core service at Arc, coordinating and managing instrument usage, user training, and day-to-day operations. You will operate analytical and sorting cytometers, with a strong focus on advising research teams on method development, assay design, and data analysis. Beyond core operations, you will help shape the strategic direction of flow cytometry at Arc—benchmarking new technologies, identifying opportunities for innovation, and driving collaborative initiatives across the institute. This position combines hands-on technical expertise with scientific leadership and community engagement.

About You

  • You are a skilled and passionate flow cytometry expert who thrives at the intersection of cutting-edge technology and collaborative science.
  • You are a collaborative and solutions-oriented scientist with deep expertise in flow cytometry.
  • You have a natural ability to translate complex scientific concepts into clear, accessible training materials, and you take pride in empowering laboratory personnel at all levels to work safely and effectively with flow cytometry instrumentation.
  • You bring a strategic mindset to assay development, panel design, and data interpretation, and you are confident leading cross-institute initiatives that push the boundaries of what flow cytometry can achieve.
  • You are a proactive communicator who enjoys sharing knowledge — whether through hands-on demos, internal presentations, or talks at major scientific conferences — and you are excited by the opportunity to shape Arc's reputation as an innovation leader in the field.

In this position you will

  • Enable increased capacity for users to operate analytical flow cytometry analyzers & sorters and execute walkaway flow sorts.
  • Develop clear training strategy, overview of training pathways and material and easy access to training
  • Train and assist laboratory personnel with respect to the use of flow cytometry equipment and safety procedures.
  • Provide strategic direction in assay development, panel design, troubleshooting, and data interpretation. Run data analysis and interpretation of data generated at the FACS facility
  • Lead cross-institute initiatives that leverage flow cytometry.
  • Stay at the forefront of advancements in flow cytometry technology, instrumentation, and analytical methodologies. Run benchmarking of relevant technologies and share insights with the Arc community via demos and presentations.
  • Identify emerging opportunities where flow cytometry can unlock new biological insights aligned with Institute goals.
  • Drive scientific discourse through presentations at major conferences, serve as a thought leader in the flow community, and contribute to Arc's reputation as an innovation leader.
  • Backup to maintain and troubleshoot flow cytometry instruments. You must be comfortable performing hands-on troubleshooting and solving basic instrument problems as they arise. 
  • Backup as a shared point of contact with the manufacturer’s technical support and field service engineering teams to coordinate instrument preventative maintenance and repairs as needed.
  • Help with equipment management and recharge program in concert with the Lab Ops team to minimize equipment downtime and maintain equipment service logs.
  • Backup manage access for end users depending on training requirements.
  • Backup monitor and manage the supply of all commonly required fluids,  supplies and consumables.
  • Help maintain laboratory safety in BSL2 and BSL2+ environments for everyone that accesses the laboratory & help with risk assessments 

Requirements

  • Doctorate/Masters or BA degree in relevant discipline with a total of 8 or more years of Cytometry experience.
  • Extensive expertise in flow cytometry; strong understanding of cytometry platforms and instrumentation, equipment support, and assay development.
  • Working knowledge of Full Spectrum Flow cytometry. In addition, knowledge of how to integrate flow & imaging cytometry efforts with adjacent single cell technologies (e.g., RNA seq, CRISPR screens, etc) would be preferred.
  • Proficiency in flow cytometry analysis software such as FlowJo, FCS Express, and/or OMIQ.
  • Good documentation practices & scientific conduct as defined by standard operating procedures.
  • Ability to work later hours, as required.

Preferred Qualifications

  • Proven ability to interact with stakeholders to understand program needs, assay specifics, timelines, and data delivery.
  • Experience of leveraging varied AI/ML analytical platforms as they emerge into our industry & work in a team structure with data scientists in synergy.
  • Facs Core management experience a plus.

The base salary range for this position is $104,500 - $128,750. 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.

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