Research Assistant

Research Assistant Position

Caltech is a world-renowned science and engineering institute that marshals some of the world's brightest minds and most innovative tools to address fundamental scientific questions. We thrive on finding and cultivating talented people who are passionate about what they do. Join us and be a part of the diverse Caltech community.

The Qian lab is seeking a Research Assistant who may be interested in transitioning to a PhD program at the interface of Computer Science and Molecular Engineering. The Research Assistant in Software Engineering will support the development of innovative software tools and applications that advance the lab's research in programmable molecular systems. The Research Assistant will assist with designing and implementing web-based compilers and computational platforms for the design, simulation, and analysis of nucleic acid systems.

• Assist in software development to support research for programmable molecular systems, focusing on web-based compilers and computational tools for designing, simulating, and analyzing nucleic-acid system behaviors.
• Utilize relevant literature and existing computational tools in nucleic acid nanotechnology, molecular programming, synthetic biology, and related areas to inform software design.
• Under the supervision of the faculty member, draft documentation, tutorials, and example workflows to support use of the software by researchers.
• Prepare software performance, usability, and reliability reports for evaluation by supervising faculty member and communicate with users of the software.
• Opportunity to test molecular designs experimentally in the laboratory work, under the supervision of group members.
• Opportunity to collaborate with research team members to brainstorm new conceptual designs, research ideas, and other software tools based on scientific needs and user feedback.

• Bachelors degree in Computer Science.
• Must have a minimum of two years of relevant experience.

• M.S. in Computer Science.
• Experience with web-based software development.
• Proficiency in user interface design principles.
• Strong analytical, quantitative, and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent written and oral communication abilities.

• Resume.