Molecular Biologist – NGS & qPCR for Field Detection

Pilgrim; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Pilgrim is building America's biology prime. Pilgrim seeks a Molecular Biologist to advance ARGUS by developing and refining sample preparation, qPCR, and sequencing methods for robust field detection of environmental samples.

You will design experiments to improve nucleic acid recovery, assay performance, and sequencing quality, translating findings into validated lab protocols. The role involves hands-on wet-lab work, data interpretation, and collaboration with Systems Integration to transfer

Qualifications

• Strong foundation in molecular biology, microbiology, genomics, or related field
• Hands-on experience with nucleic acid extraction, qPCR, sequencing library preparation, and QC
• Advanced wet-lab equipment handling and molecular biology techniques
• Experience writing reproducible protocols and transferring methods across teams

Responsibilities

• Develop and optimize sample preparation methods including lysis and nucleic acid extraction
• Develop qPCR assays with controls and inhibition tests
• Optimize sequencing workflows for low-input and complex samples
• Design controlled experiments to measure recovery, detection limits, and repeatability
• Investigate unexpected findings with bioinformatics and compare qPCR vs sequencing results
• Define reagent and handling requirements for validated methods and transfer to ARGUS
• Write and maintain experimental protocols and records

Skills

Molecular biology

Genomics

qPCR

Sequencing

Lab techniques

Education

Master's or PhD in a related field

Job description

Pilgrim is building America's biology prime. Pilgrim seeks a Molecular Biologist to advance ARGUS by developing and refining sample preparation, qPCR, and sequencing methods for robust field detection of environmental samples.

You will design experiments to improve nucleic acid recovery, assay performance, and sequencing quality, translating findings into validated lab protocols. The role involves hands-on wet-lab work, data interpretation, and collaboration with Systems Integration to transfer