Senior Research Associate, Functional Genomics

Arc Institute; Palo Alto (CA); On-site; USD 92,500 - 114,250; Full time

Job summary

The Arc Institute in Palo Alto is seeking a highly skilled Senior Research Associate to join its Functional Genomics team. This role involves high-throughput interrogation of mammalian genomes and contributes significantly to the Virtual Cell Initiative.

The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in mammalian cell culture and functional genomic screens. The position offers a competitive salary range of $92,500-$114,250 along with an annual discretionary bonus.

Qualifications

• Hands-on experience and proficient skills in mammalian cell culture.
• Experience in executing high throughput CRISPR screens.
• Knowledge of various cellular and molecular techniques.

Responsibilities

• Conduct routine mammalian cell culture and manipulation.
• Contribute to execution of large-scale in vitro perturbation screens.
• Analyze and present data at internal meetings.

Skills

Mammalian cell culture

Functional genomic screens

NGS library preparation

Attention to detail

Education

BS degree in relevant field with 4+ years of relevant experience

Tools

CRISPR

LIMS

Flow cytometry

Job description

Senior Research Associate, Functional Genomics

About Arc Institute

Arc Institute is an independent nonprofit research organization at the interface of artificial intelligence and biology, working to accelerate scientific progress and understand the root causes of complex diseases. Founded in 2021 and based in Palo Alto, Arc partners with Stanford University, UC Berkeley, and UC San Francisco.

Unlike academia, our scientists have long-term funding and industry-like resources. Unlike industry, they are free to pursue high‑risk, long‑term research without commercial pressures. Arc's Technology Centers and Core Investigator labs work side by side, integrating experimental and computational biology under one roof to tackle problems neither could solve alone.

Our two Institute Initiatives reflect this model in action:

• Virtual Cell Initiative: Building a full‑stack virtual cell model to identify disease mechanisms and nominate drug targets, accelerating the path from biological insight to clinical trials.
• Alzheimer's Disease Initiative: Mapping the genes, pathways, and environmental factors behind Alzheimer's disease to develop drug candidates that address root causes.

More than 300 Arconauts work together at our Palo Alto headquarters, backed by substantial long‑term philanthropic funding.

About the position

We are seeking a highly skilled and motivated Senior Research Associate to join the Functional Genomics team inside the Genome Engineering Technology Center at the Arc Institute. This position will directly support our efforts of high‑throughput interrogation of mammalian genomes, transcriptomes, and epigenomes with rich multi‑omic readouts. You will play a critical role in the Virtual Cell Initiative, which aims to create the first foundational model that makes accurate predictions of cellular states and their response to intervention. You will also have the opportunity to partner closely with pioneering labs that have developed the fundamental toolbox for genome engineering and functional genomics screens, such as CRISPR nucleases, CRISPRi, CRISPRoff, CRISPRa, and serine or bridge recombinases.

The ideal candidate will have hands‑on experience and proficient skills in mammalian cell culture, functional genomic screens, and NGS library preparation, and familiarity with various other cellular and molecular techniques. They must also demonstrate the ability to independently execute and troubleshoot complex workflows and protocols with an outstanding attention to detail. This is an excellent opportunity for a highly motivated and curious researcher interested in leveraging cutting‑edge functional genomic technologies to drive innovative scientific discoveries.

About you

• You are highly motivated and passionate about applying cutting‑edge functional genomics techniques to enable scientific discoveries.
• You are diligent, detail oriented, adaptable, and excel at troubleshooting.
• You are committed to generating high quality data and maintaining good documentation practices.
• You enjoy working collaboratively with others and thrive in a fast‑paced, dynamic work environment.
• You respect the process and are comfortable carrying out the routine execution of tasks while identifying opportunities to troubleshoot and address bottlenecks.

In this position you will

• Conduct routine mammalian cell culture, including cell line banking, expansion, and manipulation.
• Contribute to the end‑to‑end execution of large scale in vitro perturbation screens and downstream sample preparation for NGS.
• Participate in other research efforts related to cellular model, technology and assay development.
• Execute tasks and experiments with a focus on efficiency and reproducibility, following already established SOPs and ensuring accurate and reliable record keeping and documentation in our ELN and LIMS system.
• Analyze and present data at internal meetings and seminars.
• Collaborate cross‑functionally with other Tech Center teams at Arc.
• Contribute to lab organization and maintenance, including rotating in regular cleaning schedules and inventory management of supplies and reagents.

Requirements

• BS degree in relevant field with 4+ years of relevant experience, or MS degree in relevant field with 2+ years of relevant postgraduate experience. Industry experience is desirable but not required.
• Proficiency in mammalian cell culture procedures and associated aseptic techniques, including direct experience working with stem cells and differentiation workflows (neuron and microglia preferred).
• Hands‑on experience executing high throughput CRISPR screens. Prior experience with pooled CRISPR screens is strongly preferred.
• Experienced with different NGS library preparation workflows (e.g. amplicon, bulk and single cell).
• Experience and knowledge of various cellular, molecular and biochemical techniques such as viral production, flow cytometry, and qPCR.
• Attention to details with the ability to deliver high quality work in a consistent manner.
• The ability to independently execute experiments involving complex workflows, and troubleshoot technical problems.
• The ability to be flexible and adaptable in a work environment.
• Excellent organizational and time management skills.
• Flexibility to work some weekends as needed.

Preferred Qualifications

• Neuroscience background, particularly experience with electrophysiology and/or molecular neuroscience techniques.
• Prior experience with single‑cell RNA sequencing. Experience with 10x Flex is a plus.
• Multi‑color flow cytometry and FACS sorting.
• Adept at molecular cloning. Prior experience with large pooled plasmid library construction is a plus.
• Experience with LIMS systems, ideally Benchling.
• Adept at data analysis in an independent manner.

The base salary range for this position is $92,500-$114,250. These amounts reflect the range of base salary that the Institute reasonably would expect to pay a new hire or internal candidate for this position. The actual base compensation paid to any individual for this position may vary depending on factors such as experience, market conditions, education/training, skill level, and whether the compensation is internally equitable, and does not include bonuses, commissions, differential pay, other forms of compensation, or benefits. This position is also eligible to receive an annual discretionary bonus, with the amount dependent on individual and institute performance factors.

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