Facility Scientist – High-Throughput Screening Facility

Prinses Máxima Centrum voor kinderoncologie; Utrecht; On-site; EUR 33,000 - 55,000; Part time

Job summary

The Princess Máxima Center High-Throughput Screening (HTS) Facility is looking for a Facility Scientist with a passion for automation and advanced screening technologies.

In this role you will contribute to the development and operation of innovative automated organoid culture and high-throughput screening workflows that support cutting-edge pediatric cancer research and the development of personalized therapies.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in biomedical sciences, life sciences or another relevant scientific discipline.
• Experience with automated liquid handling systems, preferably the Beckman Biomek i7.
• Experience with mammalian cell culture and/or organoid culture.
• Experience working safely with compound libraries.
• Familiarity with multiwell plate-based assays (96-, 384- or 1536-well formats).
• Affinity with data analysis; experience with R or Python is considered an advantage.
• Strong organizational skills and a structured approach to documentation.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills.
• A proactive attitude and enthusiasm for innovation and technology.

Responsibilities

• Develop, optimize and execute automated cell and organoid screening workflows.
• Operate, maintain and troubleshoot the HTS platform together with your facility colleagues.
• Perform mammalian cell culture and organoid culture for high-throughput compound screening.
• Troubleshoot and optimize organoid culture conditions to ensure reproducible screening material.
• Generate high-quality screening data and perform early-stage data analysis.
• Develop and optimize (imaging) flow cytometry assays for organoid characterization.
• Build and maintain supporting platforms such as the antibody database, method database and internal knowledge portal.
• Design, document and continuously improve automated workflows.
• Write and maintain SOPs and workflow manuals.
• Train researchers and facility users on the Biomek i7 and associated software.
• Collaborate with researchers to optimize assays, implement new technologies and improve experimental workflows.

Skills

Automated liquid handling

Mammalian & organoid culture

Compound libraries

Multiwell plate assays

Data analysis (R/Python)

Documentation & organization

Communication & collaboration

Proactive mindset

Education

Bachelor's degree in biomedical sciences/life sciences

Tools

Beckman Biomek i7

Job description

The Princess Máxima Center High-Throughput Screening (HTS) Facility is looking for a Facility Scientist with a passion for automation and advanced screening technologies. In this role, you will contribute to the development and operation of innovative automated organoid culture and high-throughput screening workflows that support cutting-edge pediatric cancer research and the development of personalized therapies.

Duties and responsibilities

The HTS Facility operates a fully integrated high-throughput screening platform consisting of more than 20 automated instruments, including a Beckman Biomek i7 liquid handler, Echo 550 acoustic dispenser, Multidrop dispenser, incubators, centrifuges and plate washers. The platform enables large-scale compound screening in 96-, 384- and 1536-well plate formats using both cell lines and patient-derived organoids.

Working closely with your facility colleagues, you will operate, maintain and further develop the HTS platform. You will design and optimize automated workflows for organoid culture, compound screening and advanced (imaging) flow cytometry assays. In addition to supporting researchers with their experiments, you will contribute to implementing new technologies, maintaining high-quality documentation and continuously improving the facility's automation capabilities.

You will be part of a collaborative and innovative HTS team that works closely with researchers, imaging specialists and data scientists to accelerate the development of new treatment strategies for children with cancer.

Responsibilities

• Develop, optimize and execute automated cell and organoid screening workflows.
• Operate, maintain and troubleshoot the HTS platform together with your facility colleagues.
• Perform mammalian cell culture and organoid culture for high-throughput compound screening.
• Troubleshoot and optimize organoid culture conditions to ensure reproducible screening material.
• Generate high-quality screening data and perform early-stage data analysis.
• Develop and optimize (imaging) flow cytometry assays for organoid characterization.
• Build and maintain supporting platforms such as the antibody database, method database and internal knowledge portal.
• Design, document and continuously improve automated workflows.
• Write and maintain SOPs and workflow manuals.
• Train researchers and facility users on the Biomek i7 and associated software.
• Collaborate with researchers to optimize assays, implement new technologies and improve experimental workflows.

Profile

We are looking for a curious, proactive and technically skilled professional with a strong interest in laboratory automation and technology development. You enjoy solving technical challenges, optimizing complex workflows and working in a multidisciplinary research environment. Your work will directly contribute to advancing personalized treatment strategies for children with cancer.

What You Need To Be Successful

• A Bachelor's degree in biomedical sciences, life sciences or another relevant scientific discipline.
• Hands-on experience with automated liquid handling systems, preferably the Beckman Biomek i7.
• Experience with mammalian cell culture and/or organoid culture.
• Experience working safely with compound libraries.
• Familiarity with multiwell plate-based assays (96-, 384- or 1536-well formats).
• Affinity with data analysis; experience with R or Python is considered an advantage.
• Strong organizational skills and a structured approach to documentation.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills.
• A proactive attitude and enthusiasm for innovation and technology.

Our job offer

We offer a Facility Scientist position for 32 – 36 hours per week in an inspiring and multidisciplinary research environment. You will initially be appointed for a period of 1 year with the possibility of extension. Your gross monthly salary is based on scale 50 with a maximum of €4.914,- gross a month based on a fulltime position (36 hours). You will also receive 8.33% gross monthly salary holiday allowance and 8.33% end-of-year bonus. The Princess Máxima Center operates according to the collective labour agreement ‘cao algemene ziekenhuizen’.

High Throughput Screening Facility

The High-Throughput Screening Facility is a central research facility supporting drug discovery, CRISPR perturbation studies and phenotypic screening using advanced automation technologies and patient-derived organoid models. You will work under the daily supervision of Jeroen van Velzen, in close collaboration with facility scientists, researchers, imaging specialists and data scientists. Together, you will further develop automated screening workflows and contribute to the implementation of innovative technologies that support precision oncology research. The facility offers an inspiring environment with state-of-the-art equipment and ample opportunity to contribute your own ideas, technical expertise and innovations.

The Princess Máxima Center

The Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology is an integrated hospital and research institute, which integrates healthcare, research and education on pediatric cancer, in a single location in Utrecht. Our institute aims to provide the highest level of care for all children with cancer, with optimal quality of life. The center brings together the best possible care and scientific research, creating a unique interdisciplinary institute for pediatric oncology in Europe.