Research Technician — Autonomous Platform (Nights / Weekends)

Medra; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity ownership

401k

Medical and dental insurance

Unlimited PTO

Weekday dinners

Job summary

Medra is seeking a hands-on Research Technician to operate and maintain our autonomous antibody screening platform during nights and weekends.

You will run experiments, monitor automated runs, and support end-to-end workflows from prep to purification, using KingFisher, HPLC, and plate-based systems. Strong attention to detail and a fast learning pace are essential to keep assays on schedule and data well-documented.

Qualifications

• Associate's or Bachelor's degree in a scientific field.
• Some wet-lab experience and bench comfort; careful pipetting and rigorous records.
• Availability to work night and/or weekend shifts on a regular basis.
• Meticulous, reliable, and eager to learn the full stack on the job.
• Comfort troubleshooting and working independently with good judgment.

Responsibilities

• Run scheduled experiments and monitor automated runs to keep the platform productive.
• Support antibody screening workflow end-to-end including prep, PCR, protein production, and purification.
• Operate liquid handlers and plate-based workstations; load decks and recover from errors.
• Set up and monitor kinetics and QC runs (SPR/BLI, HPLC) and flag off-spec results.
• Support mammalian cell culture and assays; ensure schedule adherence.
• Follow SOPs and capture clean data/metadata for handoff to day team.

Skills

Wet-lab experience

Attention to detail

Independent work

Fast learner

Automation enthusiasm

Education

Associate's or Bachelor's degree in a scientific field

Tools

KingFisher

HPLC

Plate readers

Benchling/LIMS

Job description

What We're Building

At Medra, our mission is to use AI, robotics, and biology to accelerate life science research, with the ultimate goal of eradicating disease. We have been quietly building the foundational layers of our Physical AI Scientist platform:

• Physical AI that can operate scientific instruments with human-level dexterity.
• Scientific AI that can analyze results, reason about next steps, and close the loop autonomously.

This is an incredibly ambitious mission, but we believe that a team of ambitious people with high ownership can accomplish incredible things.

We're looking for a hands-on Research Technician to keep our autonomous platform running on nights and/or weekends. Our robots don't sleep, and this role is the human hands and eyes that keep our antibody screening workflow moving when the rest of the team is offline. You don't need to know every technique on day one — you need to be meticulous, dependable, and genuinely excited to learn the whole stack on the job.

What You'll Do

• Run scheduled experiments, monitor automated runs in progress, and keep the platform loaded, supplied, and productive so it never sits idle
• Support our antibody screening workflow end to end — construct prep and assembly PCR, protein production of VHH/scFv/Fc-fusion binders, bead-based cleanup, and column purification
• Operate liquid handlers, magnetic particle processors (e.g., KingFisher), and plate-based workstations: load decks, launch methods, and recover from routine errors
• Set up and monitor SPR/BLI kinetics and quantitation runs (e.g., Carterra, Gator), HPLC-based purity/analytical QC, and sample QC (e.g., NanoDrop), flagging off-spec results
• Support mammalian cell culture (e.g., CHO) and cell-based assays — PD-L1 binding/blocking, flow cytometry sample prep — keeping cells and assay plates on schedule
• Follow SOPs precisely, capture clean data and metadata, and package results so the platform and the day team can pick up seamlessly
• Keep the lab shift-ready: restock consumables, manage sample chain-of-custody, follow BSL-2 and EHS practices, and leave clear handoff notes

What You Bring To The Team

• Associate's or Bachelor's degree in a scientific field with hands-on lab experience
• Some wet-lab experience and real comfort at the bench — careful pipetting, following protocols, and keeping rigorous records
• Availability to work night and/or weekend shifts on a regular basis
• Exceptional attention to detail and reliable follow-through; you run the same step the same way every time and notice when something looks off
• A fast learner with a scrappy, can-do attitude who wants to master an unfamiliar, multi-step workflow rather than stay in one narrow task
• Comfort working independently and troubleshooting calmly, with good judgment on when to elevate
• Genuine enthusiasm for automation and robotics — you're excited to work alongside machines

Bonus Points For

• Hands-on experience with any part of the antibody stack: protein expression, IMAC/affinity purification, HPLC, or biophysical binding assays (SPR/BLI)
• Mammalian cell culture, cell-based assays, or flow cytometry experience
• Experience operating liquid handlers, plate readers, or robotic workstations
• Comfort with data tools or LIMS/ELN platforms (e.g., Benchling)

This position is 100% in-person; you must be able to come on-site to our San Francisco office.

What we offer

• An opportunity to change the way that scientific research happens
• Fast-paced, creative, and collaborative work environment
• Significant equity ownership
• 401k
• Medical and dental insurance
• Unlimited PTO
• Weekday dinners