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Scientist, Cell Engineering

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. 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 highly skilled and motivated Scientist with a strong background in cellular engineering and stem cell biology to join the Molecular Engineering team within the Genome Engineering Technology Center at the Arc Institute. In this role, you will design, generate, and characterize engineered human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC) lines for arrayed genetic perturbation screens in complex organoid models used to recapitulate and probe human genetics of neurodegenerative disorders. Examples of engineering projects include developing optimized effector systems for gene knockdown and activation that function robustly throughout differentiation, introducing rare coding variants to model disease-associated mutations, and implementing novel genome engineering technologies to expand perturbation capabilities. Through this work, you will play a critical role in the Institute's Alzheimer's Disease Initiative, an ambitious cross-functional effort aimed at identifying and drugging rational therapeutic targets to combat devastating neurodegenerative disorders.

This position is highly collaborative and the candidate will have an unique opportunity to interface with pioneering labs that have developed the fundamental toolbox for genome engineering and functional genomics screens, such as CRISPR nucleases, CRISPRi, CRISPRoff, CRISPRa, and serine or bridge recombinases.

About you

  • You are passionate about science and excited about answering questions related to molecular design, genome engineering technology development, and complex human diseases.
  • You embrace challenges and often formulate creative solutions to develop new approaches and optimize existing tools to answer complex biological questions.
  • You understand the importance of collaboration and thrive when working with a diverse team of scientists.
  • You have a deep commitment to data quality while working in a fast-paced environment.
  • 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

  • Develop and optimize engineered hPSC lines for arrayed genetic perturbation screens in complex organoid models, applying genome engineering strategies tailored to the desired edit and experimental goals.
  • Design and implement systematic approaches to identify, benchmark, and optimize effector systems for gene knockdown and activation that function robustly throughout differentiation to disease-relevant cell types.
  • Execute clonal isolation, expansion, and comprehensive characterization of engineered cell lines, applying and refining established quality control standards and assays to ensure functionality, stability, and reproducibility across multiple engineering approaches.
  • Support the cross-functional execution of arrayed genetic perturbation screens for the Alzheimer’s Disease Initiative at Arc. 
  • Serve as a key technical resource for cellular engineering of stem cells, partnering with researchers across Arc's Tech Centers and Core Labs to support a wide range of experimental applications and flexibly implement genome engineering approaches based on key biological questions and downstream requirements.
  • Present findings at internal meetings and external conferences, and contribute to scientific publications.
  • Stay updated on the latest developments in the fields of genome engineering, stem cell biology, and cellular engineering, actively seeking out opportunities for innovation and technology adoption.

Requirements

  • PhD in Molecular Biology, Bioengineering, Genetics, or a related field.
  • 0-3 years of post-PhD research experience (industry or academia).
  • Experience with genome and cell line engineering in stem cells, leveraging a range of genome engineering strategies (CRISPR-Cas9 knock-in, recombinase systems, base editing, prime editing, etc.) and performing comprehensive characterization including on-target validation, off-target assessment, and functional validation of edited cell lines.
  • Experience with and enthusiasm for applying cutting-edge molecular tools to disease modeling and function-based screening, and implementing application-driven iterative, systematic technology maturation.
  • A collaborative mindset and enthusiasm for mentoring and working within a cross-functional team.
  • Strong project management skills with the ability to plan, execute, and deliver results on time.

Preferred Qualifications

  • Experience differentiating hPSCs into neural or immune lineages; microglia differentiation experience highly desirable.
  • Experience with transcriptional modulation systems (CRISPRi/a) for functional genomics screens, including effector optimization and performance benchmarking.
  • Proficiency with computational tools for analyzing genomics data (Python, R, or similar).
  • Experience with LIMS systems, ideally Benchling.

The base salary range for this position is $121,250 - $159,500. 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.

 

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