Senior Research Associate

Senior Research Associate

Location:

South San Francisco, CA Zip Code: 94080 Duration: 7 Months Pay Rate: $48/hr.

We provide a competitive pay and benefits package. This position is offering a pay range of $48/hr. however, Belcan considers several factors when extending an offer, including but not limited to education, experience, geographic location, and discipline. Benefits offered may include health care, dental, vision, life insurance; 401(k); education assistance; paid time off including PTO, holidays, and any other paid leave required by law.

Position Summary:

The Senior Research Associate will design, execute, and analyze experiments that support discovery and translational research programs in solid tumor biology and immuno-oncology. The successful candidate will work closely with scientists and cross-functional partners to generate high-quality data using organoid, tumoroid, primary sample, mammalian cell culture, and immune-cell-based assay systems.

This is a laboratory-based role requiring strong technical execution, careful experimental documentation, and the ability to troubleshoot complex biological systems. The ideal candidate is scientifically curious, collaborative, organized, and comfortable working in a fast-paced research environment.

Key Responsibilities:

• Culture, maintain, expand, and characterize mammalian cell lines, organoids, tumoroids, and other advanced 2D/3D cellular models.
• Perform molecular, cellular, and immunology-based assays to support oncology and immuno-oncology research programs.
• Design and execute experiments using techniques such as qPCR, ELISA, Western blotting, imaging-based assays, viability/proliferation assays, cytokine assays, and other standard molecular biology and immunoassay workflows.
• Support development and optimization of organoid/tumoroid assays using solid tumor models and, where applicable, patient-derived or primary samples.
• Conduct immune-cell-based functional assays, including T cell activation, T cell killing, TDCC, ADCC, cytokine release, and related immuno-oncology assays.
• Conduct flow cytometry experiments, including sample preparation, staining, acquisition, and analysis, where relevant to program needs.
• Work with primary immune cells and/or tumor samples to evaluate immune-mediated anti-tumor activity.
• Analyze, interpret, and present experimental results to project teams.
• Troubleshoot experimental challenges and contribute ideas for assay improvement.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Biomedical Sciences, Immunology, Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, Cancer Biology, or a related discipline.
• Minimum of 1-2 year of research experience in an academic or industry lab.
• Hands-on experience with organoid culture or other advanced 3D cellular model systems.
• Strong experience with mammalian cell culture, including sterile technique, cell maintenance, expansion, banking, and assay preparation.
• Experience with T cell biology and immune-cell-based assay systems.
• Working knowledge of current molecular, cellular, and immunology-based assays.
• Experience with functional immunoassays such as TDCC, ADCC, T cell activation, immune-cell killing assays, cytokine release assays, or related workflows.
• Ability to generate reliable, reproducible data and communicate results clearly.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Ability to work independently while contributing effectively to a collaborative team environment.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master's degree in Biomedical Sciences, Immunology, Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, Cancer Biology, or a related field.
• Experience with flow cytometry, including staining panel execution, data acquisition, and analysis.
• Experience working with primary human samples, patient-derived models, organoids, tumoroids, primary immune cells, or ex vivo tumor systems.
• Experience in solid tumor biology, tumor microenvironment biology, cancer immunology, or translational oncology.
• Experience developing, optimizing, or troubleshooting immune-cell-based functional assays in complex tumor or co-culture systems.
• Familiarity with assay development, optimization, and troubleshooting in complex biological systems.
• Experience with data analysis tools such as Graph Pad Prism, Flow Jo, Excel, or similar platforms.

Ideal Candidate Profile:
The ideal candidate is a rigorous experimentalist who enjoys hands-on lab work and takes ownership of generating high-quality data. They are comfortable working with complex cellular and immune-cell-based systems, including organoids, tumoroids, primary samples, and T cell functional assays. They can manage multiple experiments in parallel, troubleshoot challenging biology, and communicate clearly with scientific colleagues. They bring both technical depth and a collaborative mindset, with a strong interest in applying tumor biology and immunology to the development of new therapies for patients with cancer.

What Client Offers:
Client offers the opportunity to contribute to innovative science aimed at improving patients'…