Impactful Postdoc: Infectious Disease Assay Scientist

Zymo Research; Irvine, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 85,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental, Vision Insurance

401(K) with matching

Employee Referral Bonus

Catered lunches on Thursdays

EV Charging

Job summary

Zymo Research in Irvine, CA invites a Post-Doctoral Research Scientist to advance infectious disease assay development from concept to real-world application. You will design, optimize, and validate PCR- and NGS-based workflows, contributing to product development and cross-functional collaboration.

Lead experiments, analyze data, and communicate results in technical reports and conference presentations. A PhD in molecular biology or a related field with at least one first-author publication is

Qualifications

• Requires a PhD in molecular biology, biochemistry, virology, microbiology, or a related field, with at least one first-author publication.
• Hands-on experience designing, optimizing, and troubleshooting PCR-based assays, including primer/probe design.
• NGS-based assay development and data analysis experience is a plus.
• Experience in infectious disease, virology, microbiomics, or microbiology is preferred but not required.
• Strong written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills for cross-functional collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Design, execute, analyze, interpret, and troubleshoot experiments supporting infectious disease assay development.
• Design and optimize PCR primers/probes and NGS-based workflows for sensitive, specific detection of infectious agents.
• Develop, optimize, and validate assays and workflows end-to-end, including sample prep and nucleic acid extraction.
• Stay current with literature and emerging technologies to inform assay design and troubleshooting.
• Communicate results and contribute ideas to plan future project directions.
• Collaborate with manufacturing, marketing, commercialization, and business development to advance projects.
• Establish and maintain collaborations with outside scientists and key opinion leaders.
• Maintain accurate documentation compliant with quality and regulatory standards.
• Author technical reports, white papers, publications, and conference presentations.

Skills

PCR primer design

NGS data analysis

Molecular biology

Collaborative work

Mentoring

Education

PhD in molecular biology

Tools

PCR workflows

NGS workflows

Job description

Zymo Research in Irvine, CA invites a Post-Doctoral Research Scientist to advance infectious disease assay development from concept to real-world application. You will design, optimize, and validate PCR- and NGS-based workflows, contributing to product development and cross-functional collaboration.

Lead experiments, analyze data, and communicate results in technical reports and conference presentations. A PhD in molecular biology or a related field with at least one first-author publication is