Research Associate, Biobanking

Breakout Ventures; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 70,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

A biotechnology company in San Francisco is seeking a Biobanking Specialist to manage the processing and preservation of human tissue samples. The role involves maintaining quality control, organizing a biobanking workspace, and ensuring documentation compliance. Candidates should have a BS or MS in relevant fields and at least one year of experience in cell or tissue processing. The role is onsite, requires strong aseptic techniques, and emphasis is placed on meticulous record-keeping and communication skills.

Qualifications

• At least 1 year of hands-on experience with human primary cell or tissue processing.
• Familiarity with basic immunological or cell-based assays preferred.
• Ability to communicate clearly with colleagues and clinical partners.

Responsibilities

• Maintain rigorous chain-of-custody records for all samples.
• Isolate primary immune cells and other relevant cell types.
• Coordinate clinical sample shipments ensuring cold-chain integrity.

Skills

Aseptic technique

Mammalian cell/tissue culture

Organized

Detail-oriented

Education

BS or MS in Biology, Immunology, Cell Biology, Biotechnology

Tools

LIMS

ELN systems

Job description

Location

San Francisco, CA

Employment Type

Full time

Location Type

Hybrid

Department

Science

Compensation

• $70K – $85K

At Parallel Bio, we are leveraging the human immune system to unlock safer, more effective drugs. We believe immunotherapies are the future of medicine, but their discovery is hindered by outdated models that fail to capture the complexity of the human immune system.

Our platform overcomes these challenges by combining best-in-class human immune organoids with massive scale and advanced computational methods, including AI and machine learning. This allows us to generate unprecedented, population-scale insights into human health and disease.

We can rapidly discover new drugs that we know will work in patients from the start and understand how they will perform across an entire population—something not possible with today\'s technology. This knowledge will allow us to engineer therapies that will work for as many people as possible, ensuring a safe and effective cure for everyone.

We are a fast-paced, venture-backed company at a pivotal moment of growth. Join us on our journey as we create new tools to push the boundaries of what is possible.

The Role We are looking for a meticulous and process-driven Biobanking Specialist to join our San Francisco team. In this role, you will be responsible for receiving, processing, and preserving irreplaceable human tissue samples that power our scientific programs. Every downstream experiment, every patient stratification insight, and every therapeutic program depends on the integrity and traceability of what you maintain.

This is a 100% onsite role based at our San Francisco lab. You will be a foundational member of the biobanking function, ensuring that every donor sample is processed consistently, stored correctly, and captured with impeccable metadata. Donor samples are biologically unique and cannot be re-collected. A mislabeled specimen, a broken cold chain, or a documentation gap can permanently destroy material and compromise the scientific conclusions built on it. This role exists to ensure that never happens.

Key Responsibilities

Biobanking & Human Sample Processing

• Maintain rigorous, real-time chain-of-custody records for all samples, derivatives, and associated donor metadata in LIMS/ELN systems, ensuring the link between specimen and donor is never broken.
• Receive, log, and process human biological samples (e.g., whole blood, buffy coats, lymphoid tissues) following established biosafety and ethical guidelines.
• Isolate primary immune cells and other relevant cell types using density gradient centrifugation, magnetic separation, and related methods.
• Perform routine tissue and cell culture, including plating, media changes, and monitoring of culture quality.
• Execute and optimize cryopreservation and thawing protocols to maintain cell viability and function.

Biobank Operations & Infrastructure

• Maintain an organized, fit-for-purpose biobanking workspace, including freezers, liquid nitrogen storage, and tissue culture facilities.
• Monitor and manage inventory of samples, reagents, and consumables; coordinate ordering and restocking as needed.
• Contribute to the development, documentation, and continuous improvement of SOPs for sample receipt, processing, storage, and retrieval.
• Support equipment maintenance and calibration (e.g., biosafety cabinets, centrifuges, freezers) and proactively flag issues.

Quality Control & Project Support

• Ensure all incoming human tissue is accompanied by complete donor consent documentation; maintain awareness of applicable IRB protocols, HIPAA requirements, and material transfer agreements governing sample use and storage.
• Perform basic QC on incoming and banked samples (e.g., cell counts, viability assays, simple flow cytometry panels where applicable).
• Coordinate timing and logistics of clinical sample shipments, ensuring cold-chain integrity and proper documentation (e.g., consent forms, MTAs).
• Work closely with discovery and platform teams to provide appropriately prepared samples for organoid culture and downstream assays.
• Help troubleshoot sample- or workflow-related issues and propose practical improvements to enhance throughput and consistency.

Qualifications

• BS or MS in Biology, Immunology, Cell Biology, Biotechnology, or a related discipline.
• At least 1 year of hands-on experience with human primary cell or tissue processing in an academic or industry lab.
• Strong aseptic technique and routine experience with mammalian cell/tissue culture.
• Familiarity with basic immunological or cell-based assays (e.g., viability staining, flow cytometry, ELISA) is preferred.
• Experience using LIMS and/or ELN systems for structured sample and data tracking.
• Highly organized, detail-oriented, and comfortable managing a large and evolving biological inventory.
• Ability to work independently at the bench while communicating clearly with colleagues and clinical partners.
• Willingness to work onsite daily in San Francisco, with occasional weekend or off-hours work to process time-sensitive clinical samples.

Why Parallel Bio
Every organoid culture, every mechanistic readout, and every population-scale insight our platform generates begins with the quality and traceability of banked human tissue. As a Biobanking Specialist, you are not supporting the science from the sideline. You are building and protecting the foundation it depends on.

Parallel Bio is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering an inclusive and respectful workplace. We encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, religion, disability, or sexual orientation.

Compensation Range: $70K - $85K