Laboratory Assistant

The Tiny Cargo Company's mission is to unlock the healing power of milk derived exosomes. We're building a new frontier in targeted drug delivery through our proprietary IP in exosome isolation, loading, and drug development, and we're commercializing pharmaceutical and cosmeceutical grade exosomes to help fund that work as we scale.

We're a small, fast-moving team based in Roanoke, and every hire we make right now shapes how this company operates for years to come. That means the people who join us early get real ownership, real trust, and a real hand in building something from the ground up.

The Laboratory Assistant keeps the lab running so our scientists can focus on the science. You'll prepare materials, manage samples and inventory, and provide hands‑on analytical support across quality control, drug loading, and stability work. Regulated work requires documented training and qualification, so this role progresses from non‑regulated support toward broader responsibility as you build that qualification, reporting to the Quality Control Scientist and R&D Scientist.

• Preparing buffers, media, reagents, and standard solutions to specification, and labeling and logging them correctly
• Cleaning, sterilizing, and maintaining glassware and labware
• Tuning and maintaining lab equipment, including the plate reader, NTA, and Zetasizer, ahead of scheduled testing
• Setting up equipment and workstations ahead of scheduled testing and study work

• Receiving, logging, labeling, and storing incoming samples, and maintaining chain of custody
• Managing retain samples and reference standards under defined storage conditions
• Entering data into laboratory records and systems accurately and contemporaneously
• Managing the site's retained sample program, including retain samples and reference standards under defined storage conditions
• Owning the lab's inventory and ordering database, including flagging reorder points and rotating stock so older chemicals are used first
• Coding purchases correctly as research and development, cost of goods, or grant funded expenses
• Receiving and staging lab deliveries and verifying them against order documentation
• Maintaining lab cleanliness, waste segregation, and safety compliance

• Assisting with routine analytical testing under direct supervision, including NTA, Zetasizer, dye loading, drug loading, TEM, confocal microscopy, and plate reader work
• Stepping in to run core assays when necessary- this may include, QC, drug loading, or stability programs.
• Supporting stability pulls, sample preparation, and study execution as directed
• Completing assigned training modules and maintaining current qualification records

• Have at least a semester of wet lab experience, through coursework or prior work, in a field like biology, biochemistry, chemistry, or bioengineering
• Are comfortable with, or have exposure to, aseptic or sterile technique and cell culture
• Are just as strong a fit with a two-year degree and real bench time as with a four-year degree

• Take accuracy and consistency seriously, and are genuinely comfortable with repetitive, precision work
• Follow written procedure exactly, especially where the work touches regulated data
• Reliable, doing what you say you'll do, on schedule, because the scientists around you are counting on it

• Can hold nuance and ambiguity, since our assays each approach the full picture without ever fully determining it on their own
• Notice when something's off, a mislabeled sample, a low reagent, and do something about it, rather than looking past it