Research Technician

Research Technician

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 Research Technician will support mammalian synthetic biology and signaling pathway research through hands-on mammalian cell culture, molecular cloning, flow cytometry sample preparation, data organization, and reagent documentation under the guidance of senior lab members.

• Cell culture and cell-based experiments:
  Assist with mammalian cell culture, aseptic technique, passaging, cell counting, cyropreservation/thawing, transfection, drug or ligand stimulation, and multi-day reporter assays.
• Molecular biology and cloning support:
  Assist with Golden Gate Assembly and/or Gibson assembly, bacterial transformation, plasmid preparation, restriction digest, gel analysis, sequencing preparation, and related documentation.
• Flow cytometry support:
  Prepare samples for flow cytometry, assist with data acquisition, and organize flow cytometry data for review.
• Data organization and analysis support:
  Help organize experimental data and prepare basic figures or summaries using established lab workflows.
• Lab support and documentation:
  Assist with cell-line records, reagent organization, inventory cataloging, and general lab documentation.

• Bachelor's degree in biology, molecular biology, cell biology, biotechnology, bioengineering, or a related life sciences field.
• Minimum of 1-year hands-on experience with mammalian tissue culture, including aseptic technique, passaging, media preparation, cell counting, cryopreservation/thawing, and cell-line maintenance.
• Minimum of 1-year experience in advanced mammalian cell-culture, stem cell culture, and/or iPSC culture techniques.
• Minimum of 1-year experience with Golden Gate Assembly, Gibson Assembly, plasmid preparation, bacterial transformation, restriction digest, and gel analysis.
• Minimum of 1-year experience with cell-based experiments involving transfection, drug, or ligand stimulation, fluorescent reporter readouts, and flow cytometry sample preparation.
• Ability to follow detailed protocols, keep accurate records, communicate clearly, and work carefully in a collaborative research environment.

• Experience with mammalian synthetic biology, gene regulation, signaling pathway research, or engineered reporter systems.
• Experience culturing mammalian cell lines such as U2OS, Jurkat, 293T, iPSCs, or other adherent or suspension cell lines.
• Experience with stem-cell-related techniques, including iPSC culture training, embryoid body formation, feeder-layer culture, immunocytochemistry, viability assessment, and morphology assessment.
• Hands-on experience with flow cytometry instruments such as CytoFLEX and/or basic analysis using Flow Jo.
• Familiarity with RNA isolation, qPCR, Python, R, or basic scientific data analysis.

• Resume