Research Associate II, High-Throughput Cell Biology

Biohub; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 52,000 - 87,000; Full time

Job summary

Biohub Chicago is seeking a Research Associate II in High-Throughput Cell Biology to support automated biology workflows and hands-on cell biology experiments in a fast-paced lab. The role focuses on maintaining cell cultures and performing routine experiments onsite in Chicago, IL.

You will help develop QC metrics for a scalable experimentation platform, collaborate with automation engineers and scientists, and document results.

Qualifications

• Master's or Bachelor's degree in Biological Sciences or a related field.
• 2–4 years hands-on research experience.
• Experience culturing primary cells, non-adherent cells, and immortalized cell lines.
• Flexibility and willingness to learn new technologies.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail across multi-step, multi-day experimental workflows.

Responsibilities

• Support high-throughput experiments, loading labware and reagents, perform startup and shutdown operations, and monitor execution to flag deviations from protocol.
• Perform routine cell culture and molecular biology, including daily bulk cell culture maintenance, media preparations, and routine equipment maintenance.
• Assist in model development and maintenance, including culture and differentiation of iPSCs or other relevant cell systems that recapitulate disease-related phenotypes.
• Design, optimize, and troubleshoot experimental protocols and SOPs, proactively identifying bottlenecks and opportunities to improve throughput, reliability, or efficiency.
• Maintain detailed lab notebooks, document experimental outcomes, and communicate findings to the larger team.
• Independently plan, prioritize and execute work.
• Collaborate with scientists in experimental design and analysis.
• Adhere to laboratory safety standards, guidelines, and protocols.

Skills

Hands-on research

Independent work

Organization

Documentation

Multi-step workflows

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s in Biological Sciences

Tools

Flow cytometry

NGS library prep

10x Genomics

Lentiviral vectors

Lab automation

Job description

Research Associate II, High-Throughput Cell Biology

Chicago, IL (Onsite)

Biohub is the first large-scale initiative bringing frontier AI models, massive compute, and frontier experimental capabilities under one roof. We're building a general-purpose system to accelerate scientific discovery, integrating frontier AI models, biological foundation models, and lab capabilities, with the ultimate goal of curing disease. Our technology powers scientists around the world, translating AI capabilities into tools that accelerate research everywhere.

The Team

Our decoding inflammation team builds tools to enable precise molecular-level measurements of inflammation within human tissues in real time, and develop proactive, early interventions that can be deployed when inflammation — which underlies the most significant causes of death worldwide — first flares in the body. You can learn more about our work here.

Our team collaborates with three powerhouse universities - Northwestern University, the University of Chicago, and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign - to develop first-in-class technologies and make breakthroughs.

Our Vision

• Pursue large scientific challenges that cannot be pursued in conventional environments
• Enable individual investigators to pursue their riskiest and most innovative ideas
• Facilitate research by scientists and clinicians at our home institutions and beyond

We are a team of passionate individuals powered by technology, guided by scientific research, and driven by collaboration, working toward a mission to cure or prevent all disease.

The Opportunity

To support our AI models and applications in inflammation and immunology, Biohub Chicago is building a lab that runs biology experiments at a scale and consistency that manual work can't reach. We are seeking a Research Associate experienced in hands-on cell biology to work closely with automation engineers and scientists, performing consistent cell maintenance, executing experiments on and off automated systems, and developing the QC metrics which will form the basis for a reliable experimentation platform. We are looking for a strong experimentalist who is comfortable learning new instrumentation.

What You'll Do

• Support execution of high throughput experiments, including loading labware, reagents, performing startup and shutdown operations, and monitoring execution to flag for deviations to planned protocol.
• Perform routine cell culture and molecular biology, including daily bulk cell culture maintenance, media preparations, and routine equipment maintenance tasks.
• Assist in model development and maintenance, including culture and differentiation of iPSCs or other relevant cell systems that recapitulate disease-related phenotypes.
• Design, optimize, and troubleshoot experimental protocols and SOPs, proactively identifying bottlenecks and opportunities to improve throughput, reliability, or efficiency.
• Maintain detailed lab notebooks, document experimental outcomes, and Communicate findings to the larger team.
• Independently plan, prioritize and execute work.
• Collaborate with scientists in experimental design and analysis.
• Adhere to laboratory safety standards, guidelines, and protocols.

What You'll Bring

• Master's or Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences or a related field
• 2-4 years of hands-on research experience
• Experience culturing primary cells, non-adherent cells as well as immortalized cell lines
• Flexibility and willingness to learn new technologies
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail across multi-step, multi-day experimental workflows — including documentation, reagent management, and coordination
• Ability to work independently on assigned projects

Nice to Have

• Experience with flow cytometry, including sample preparation and instrument operation
• Experience with next-generation sequencing library preparation or single-cell genomics platforms (particularly 10x Genomics)
• Familiar with lentiviral vector productions and transduction
• Experience culturing iPSCs
• Experience with lab automation and liquid handling

Compensation

The Chicago, IL base pay range for a new hire in this role is $70,000 - $87,000. New hires are typically hired into the lower portion of the range, enabling employee growth in the range over time. Actual placement in range is based on job-related skills and experience, as evaluated throughout the interview process.

This position may be eligible to participate in our discretionary annual performance bonus program. Bonus eligibility and targets are determined in accordance with our total rewards philosophy and may vary by role.

Benefits for the Whole You

We’re thankful to have an incredible team behind our work. To honor their commitment, we offer a wide range of benefits to support the people who make all we do possible.

• Provides a generous employer match on employee 401(k) contributions to support planning for the future.
• Paid time off to volunteer at an organization of your choice.
• Relocation support for employees who need assistance moving

If you’re interested in a role but your previous experience doesn’t perfectly align with each qualification in the job description, we still encourage you to apply as you may be the perfect fit for this or another role.

As set forth in the organization’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.