Research Lab Technician Lead - Huycke and West Lab

Research Lab Technician Lead - Huycke and West Lab

A cover letter is required for consideration for this position and should be attached as the first page of your resume. The cover letter should address your specific interest in the position and outline skills and experience that directly relate to this position.

The Research Lab Tech Lead provides advanced technical and operational leadership for both the Huycke and West laboratories. This role spans two independent research programs and requires advanced mouse colony management, regulatory oversight, complex experimental execution, data analysis, decision making, and cross-laboratory coordination. The technician serves as a lab leader for unique experimental methods, instrumentation, compliance, and protocol troubleshooting, operating with substantial autonomy.

The mission of the University of Michigan is to serve the people of Michigan and the world through preeminence in creating, communicating, preserving and applying knowledge, art, and academic values, and in developing leaders and citizens who will challenge the present and enrich the future.

Mouse Colony Management and Strategic Oversight (80% - split between Huycke and West labs)

• Serve as the lead technician overseeing two large, transgenic mouse colonies (~400 cages total).
• Independently design and execute complex breeding schemes for 40+ alleles, including intricate 5-allele crosses and timed matings to support developmental studies.
• Manage the full colony lifecycle - including line expansion, retirement, and genotype validation - while handling cohort forecasting and procurement from vendors (Jackson Labs, Charles River, Taconic Biosciences, Inotiv).
• Function as the central point of contact to synchronize experimental needs across two independent laboratories, ensuring resource availability and real-time troubleshooting for time-sensitive projects.
• Establish and maintain rigorous colony workflows using electronic platforms (Soft Mouse/Transnetyx) to ensure 100% data traceability and alignment with evolving research priorities.
• Assist Principal Investigators with IACUC protocol maintenance and amendments; proactively monitor animal counts and procedures to ensure strict regulatory compliance.

Laboratory Operations & Technical Expertise (10% - Huycke Lab)

• Lead laboratory operations ordering, receiving, inventory management, and shared reagent preparation (Huycke Lab).
• Assist in the training and mentoring of new personnel in advanced techniques, including tissue microdissection, embryo collection, mammary gland isolation, small animal surgery, orthotopic mammary gland injections, lung dissections, organoid culture, histology, and live confocal imaging.
• Maintain and operate specialized equipment (confocal microscopes, nanoindentation systems, organoid culture workflows) and coordinate with vendors to troubleshoot problems.
• Oversee and update laboratory safety and compliance procedures.

Experimental Execution & Data Analysis (10% - split between Huycke and West labs)

• Perform developmental biology experiments (timed matings, tissue isolation, organ culture, live imaging, nanoindentation) and analyze results using sophisticated imaging software and standard statistical analyses.
• Perform tumor biology experiments (tumor measurements, mammary gland/tumor dissections, organoid establishment).
• Troubleshoot experimental issues, optimize protocols, and recommend solutions.

• Bachelors degree with 2-3 years directly relevant work.
• Demonstrated ability to perform complex laboratory procedures with minimal supervision.
• Advanced proficiency in specialized instrumentation and laboratory methods; recognized resource for technical troubleshooting.
• Experience evaluating data using statistical and multivariate analytical approaches.
• Strong organizational and communication skills across two independent laboratories with time-sensitive experimental pipelines.
• Proven capacity to identify operational challenges and implement effective solutions with minimal supervision.

Masters Degree in a related field.

Positions that are eligible for hybrid or mobile/remote work mode are at the discretion of the hiring department. Work agreements are reviewed annually at a minimum and are subject to change at any time, and for any reason, throughout the course of employment. Learn more about the work modes.

As one of the world's great liberal arts colleges, LSA pushes the boundaries of what is understood about the human experience and the natural world, and we foster the next generation of rigorous and empathetic thinkers, creators, and contributors to the state of Michigan, the nation, and the world.

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