Lab Assistant , QBBerkeley

At the University of California, Berkeley , we are dedicated to fostering a community where everyone feels welcome and can thrive. Our culture of openness, freedom, and belonging makes it a special place for students, faculty, and staff, who are among the most talented and accomplished anywhere, including Nobel laureates, Pulitzer Prize winners, and Mac Arthur Fellows. Since our founding in 1868, we have been an engine for innovation - driving intellectual, economic, and social progress that benefits California, the U.S., and beyond.

Together, we change the world.

At Berkeley, the best careers are built on a foundation of continuous learning and growth . We actively support professional development by providing all full-time staff employees with at least 80 hours of paid time per year and provide space for supportive colleague communities via numerous employee resource groups.

QB3-Berkeley is where world-class scientists and engineers form interdisciplinary collaborations that solve complex health and environmental challenges. By blending biology with physics and engineering, our researchers create life-changing technologies, from the CRISPR gene-editing revolution and click chemistry to the development of malaria-fighting microbes.

Under general supervision, the Lab Assistant 3 provides skilled technical and operational support for research in the Doudna laboratory. This position performs standardized, recurring molecular biology, microbiology, protein, and nucleic acid procedures using established protocols; prepares reagents and samples; maintains laboratory materials and records; and operates routine laboratory equipment. The Lab Assistant 3 organizes technical data for review by research staff and may assist with basic computer-based sequence processing and data organization using established workflows.

This position works closely with research personnel to support reliable and reproducible laboratory research activities. Additionally, this position provides technical research support for projects investigating the molecular mechanisms of novel CRISPR-Cas and related microbial defense systems, contributing to the characterization of candidate defense systems identified through genomic and bioinformatic analyses. Under the guidance of the postdoctoral scholar and the principal investigator, the Lab Assistant 3 may also assist with basic computational analysis, including genome mining, sequence analysis, data organization and visualization, and in silico protein structure prediction using tools such as Alpha

Fold2/Colab Fold.

The First Review Date for this job is:
October 29, 2026. For full consideration, please apply on or before the first review date.

Molecular Biology and Reagent Preparation - 30%

• Performs standardized and recurring molecular biology procedures in support of laboratory research, including PCR, DNA assembly using established methods, bacterial transformation, plasmid preparation, restriction digestion, agarose gel electrophoresis, and nucleic acid purification.
• Prepares, labels, stores, and tracks DNA constructs, reagents, and samples according to established laboratory procedures.
• Maintains accurate records of materials and procedures performed.

Recombinant Protein and Sample Preparation - 20%

• Performs established procedures for bacterial culture, recombinant protein expression, cell harvesting and lysis, affinity purification, size-exclusion chromatography, and related sample-processing steps.
• Prepares buffers and other materials, operates routine laboratory equipment, records purification outputs and protein concentration measurements, and prepares samples for use by research personnel.

RNA and Nucleic Acid…