Back to jobs
tags.new

Scientist, Pluvinage Lab

Palo Alto, CA

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 300 people to date. 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 seeking a Scientist to join the Pluvinage Lab at the Arc Institute. Our goal is to improve the lives of patients with neurological diseases. We do this by exploring undiagnosed autoimmunity in rare mystery cases and common neurodegenerative conditions alike.

The questions we ask:

  1. How do autoantibodies regulate cognition?
  2. What is the source, target, and mechanism of pathogenic autoantibodies in neurological disease?
  3. How can we eliminate pathogenic autoantibodies while leaving the rest of the immune system intact?
  4. How does comorbid autoimmunity contribute to cognitive decline in neurodegeneration?
  5. Are there protective autoantibodies that promote cognitive resilience in healthy brain aging?

The approaches we take: discovery-driven projects starting with human samples (cerebrospinal fluid, PBMCs, brain tissue) from curated cohorts of patients with neurological diseases, CRISPR screens, phage display, immune repertoire sequencing

Scientists will lead technology development projects for autoantibody discovery, pursue independent projects resulting in translational IP, present at conferences, and prepare for long-term careers at the intersection of academia and industry. Scientists with expertise in functional genomics, protein engineering, or structural biology are encouraged to apply.

About you

  • You are extremely curious and self-motivated.
  • You thrive in a fast-paced environment while conducting rigorous and impactful research.
  • You are intellectually independent and are able to design new research directions and projects (with input from your PI).
  • You are eager to learn and adapt new techniques.
  • You are excited by solving puzzles that have a translational impact and/or creating new therapeutic approaches. 

In this position you will

  • Design, perform and analyze experiments 
  • Keep appropriate experimental records and documentation
  • Analyze results with the Principal Investigator
  • General lab maintenance as well as operation and maintenance of equipment and instruments.
  • Collaborate with post-docs, students and employees
  • Mentor/train research associates, technicians, and students. 
  • Publish, present, and represent that lab in journals and conferences.
  • Present at lab meetings, and participate in Arc-wide activities (seminars, symposiums, etc).

Requirements

  • 0-5 years of post-doctorate experience
  • Doctorate (MD, PhD, MD/PhD, or equivalent) in immunology, genetics, neuroscience, or related field 
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills
  • Demonstrated ability to work in a fast-paced environment and be both an independent thinker and a highly collaborative team player
  • Experience and fluency with recombinant protein expression, purification, and biochemical characterization
  • Experience and fluency with mammalian cell culture, cell engineering, and associated techniques (e.g. construct design, cloning, and characterization of genetically modified cells)

The base salary range for this position is $121,250 - $150,000. 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.

Apply for this job

*

indicates a required field

Resume/CV*

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Cover Letter

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Select...
Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in Arc Institute’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

Select...
Select...
Race & Ethnicity Definitions

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability

Form CC-305
Page 1 of 1
OMB Control Number 1250-0005
Expires 04/30/2026

Why are you being asked to complete this form?

We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.

Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp.

How do you know if you have a disability?

A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)
  • Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS
  • Blind or low vision
  • Cancer (past or present)
  • Cardiovascular or heart disease
  • Celiac disease
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
  • Diabetes
  • Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders
  • Epilepsy or other seizure disorder
  • Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome
  • Intellectual or developmental disability
  • Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD
  • Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
  • Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports
  • Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS)
  • Neurodivergence, for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities
  • Partial or complete paralysis (any cause)
  • Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema
  • Short stature (dwarfism)
  • Traumatic brain injury
Select...

PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.