Postdoctoral Researcher, Horns Lab

Arc Institute; Palo Alto (CA); On-site; USD 72,000 - 88,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading scientific research organization in Palo Alto is seeking a motivated scientist to work in the Horns Lab, focusing on immunology and neuroscience. The role involves conducting high-impact research, mentoring junior staff, and collaborating with experts across institutions. Required qualifications include a relevant doctorate and strong skills in synthetic biology and genomics technologies. Candidates should be self-motivated and eager to drive new research directions. This is a full-time position with competitive salary and growth opportunities.

Qualifications

• PhD, MD, or equivalent in bioengineering, synthetic biology, genomics, immunology, neuroscience, or molecular biology.
• Strong foundation in synthetic biology or genomics technology development.
• Excellent communication skills with proven scientific writing.

Responsibilities

• Conduct high-impact research in the Horns Lab.
• Develop as a scientific leader through publications and presentations.
• Mentor and train research associates and contribute to lab operations.

Skills

Curiosity

Self-motivation

Collaboration

Independent thinking

Research impact

Education

Doctorate (PhD, MD, etc.) in relevant fields

Tools

Single-cell sequencing

Spatial transcriptomics

High-dimensional dataset analysis

Job description

The Arc Institute is a new scientific institution conducting curiosity-driven basic science and technology development to understand and treat complex human diseases. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, Arc is an independent research organization founded on the belief that many important research programs will be enabled by new institutional models. Arc operates in partnership with Stanford University, UCSF, and UC Berkeley.

While the prevailing university research model has yielded many tremendous successes, we believe in the importance of institutional experimentation as a way to make progress. These include:

• Funding: Arc fully funds Core Investigators’ (PIs’) research groups, liberating scientists from the typical constraints of project-based external grants.
• Technology: Biomedical research has become increasingly dependent on complex tooling. Arc Technology Centers develop, optimize, and deploy rapidly advancing experimental and computational technologies in collaboration with Core Investigators.
• Support: Arc aims to provide first-class support—operationally, financially, and scientifically—that will enable scientists to pursue long-term high risk, high reward research that can meaningfully advance progress in disease cures, including neurodegeneration, cancer, and immune dysfunction.
• Culture: We believe that culture matters enormously in science and that excellence is difficult to sustain. We aim to create a culture that is focused on scientific curiosity, a deep commitment to truth, broad ambition, and selfless collaboration.

Arc has scaled to over 350 people to date. With $650M+ in committed funding and a state of the art new lab facility in Palo Alto, Arc will continue to grow quickly in the coming years.

About the Position

The Horns Lab is seeking motivated, hard‑working, and curious scientists. Our lab develops and applies technologies that bridge synthetic biology and genomics to answer fundamental and translational questions in human health, with a particular emphasis on immunology and neuroscience. We build new tools and use them to discover mechanisms in complex, dynamic systems, including the immune system, the brain, and other tissues.

Postdocs in the lab are encouraged to lead ambitious, independent projects, resulting in high‑impact publications, and to prepare for long‑term careers in academia or industry. You will have the opportunity to collaborate widely across Arc, Stanford, and the broader Bay Area ecosystem, with access to strong platforms in our lab and our institutions for genomics, single‑cell technologies, synthetic biology, computation, and experimental model systems.

The Questions We Ask

• How can we measure cellular dynamics non‑destructively at scale, capturing histories, interactions, and functional outputs?
• How do extracellular vesicles (EVs) and virus‑like particles (VLPs) interact with cells and tissues, and what molecular rules govern secretion, trafficking, uptake, and cargo delivery?
• How can we engineer delivery systems to target specific cell types and achieve efficient cytosolic delivery with minimal off‑target effects?
• How do immune cells change state, migrate, and interact with tissues over time during homeostasis, inflammation, and disease?
• How can we profile immune receptor specificity and function at scale (TCRs/BCRs) to decipher immune recognition and control immune behaviors?

The Approaches We Take

• Mammalian synthetic biology
• Single‑cell and spatial multi‑omics
• Engineering and mechanistic study of EVs, VLPs, and other delivery systems
• Immune cell engineering and functional assays
• Sequencing‑based measurement technologies
• Computational analysis and modeling of high‑dimensional datasets

About You

• You are extremely curious and self‑motivated.
• You thrive in a fast‑paced environment while conducting rigorous and impactful research.
• You are intellectually independent and enjoy proposing and driving new research directions (with input from your PI).
• You are eager to learn and adopt new techniques.
• You are excited to solve puzzles that have translational impact and/or enable new discovery and therapeutic approaches.
• You have a strong foundation in synthetic biology or genomics technology development, and/or in immunology or neuroscience.

In This Position You Will

• Conduct high‑impact research: Design, execute, and analyze experiments; take end‑to‑end ownership of a research project within the lab’s scientific focus, with guidance from the PI and increasing independence as you develop expertise.
• Develop as a future scientific leader: Publish first‑author papers in high‑impact journals, present at national and international conferences, and build a network of collaborators across Arc, Stanford, and beyond.
• Foster scientific excellence: Mentor and train research associates, technicians, and students; engage in Arc‑wide activities (seminars, symposia); contribute to a collaborative research environment; maintain rigorous experimental records and documentation; and contribute to lab operations including protocol development and maintaining shared infrastructure.

Requirements

• Doctorate (PhD, MD, MD/PhD, DVM, or equivalent) in bioengineering, synthetic biology, genomics, immunology, neuroscience, molecular biology, or a related field.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including a track record of scientific writing (manuscripts, preprints, or equivalent).
• Demonstrated ability to work in a fast‑paced environment and be both an independent thinker and a highly collaborative team player.

Preferred Qualifications

• Single‑cell sequencing and analysis (scRNA‑seq, scATAC‑seq, CITE‑seq)
• Spatial transcriptomics and multi‑omics
• Pooled perturbation screens (CRISPRi/a/KO, Perturb‑seq)
• Building new sequencing‑based assays or new measurement modalities
• Mammalian synthetic biology (e.g. genetic circuit design)
• High‑throughput library design and screening in mammalian cells
• Immune cell biology or engineering
• Immune receptor biology and profiling
• EVs, VLPs, or related nanoparticle systems
• Expertise in analysis of high‑dimensional datasets (e.g. single‑cell transcriptomics, spatial transcriptomics, pooled screening, using Python or R)

How to Apply

• CV
• Brief cover letter describing your research interests, what kinds of projects you’re excited to lead, and why the Horns Lab is a fit. Please be sure to include contact information for 3+ references.

The minimum base salary for this position is $80,000. Base salary for this role is determined by how many months of relevant postdoctoral experience a successful candidate has. Base salary for this role is not negotiable.

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