Study Support Technician II - Technical (Aquatics)

hhmi; Ashburn (VA); On-site; USD 55,000 - 82,000; Full time

Job summary

HHMI's Janelia Research Campus in Ashburn, VA, seeks an Aquatics Technician to support the maintenance of zebrafish and Danionella colonies for neuroscience research.

Under minimal supervision, you will perform embryo care, crosses, microinjections, IVF, and genetic line management, while keeping detailed colony records and coordinating with researchers to ensure timely progress.

Qualifications

• Two years of aquatic husbandry or laboratory animal care experience.
• Degree in life sciences or related field.
• Experience with transgenic colony management is a plus.
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision.

Responsibilities

• Perform technical procedures to maintain zebrafish and danionella colonies, including embryo care, crosses, and breeding coordination for stable transgenic lines.
• Perform reproductive techniques such as embryo microinjections, IVF, and cryopreserved sperm recovery.
• Conduct whole-animal screening (fluorescent/phenotype/dye embryonic screening), fin clipping, and sperm collection for PCR.
• Track microinjection stages and handoffs to Aquatics staff as embryos progress.
• Maintain transgenic colony records (crossing events, genotyping, screening, injection outcomes, AI screening data, live-feed culture notes).
• Communicate breeding colony status and progress with researchers.

Skills

MS Office

Communication

Collaboration

Education

Associate's degree in life sciences

Bachelor's degree in life sciences

Tools

Database systems

Job description

Primary Work Address: 19700 Helix Drive, Ashburn, VA, 20147

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Janelia Research Campus is a pioneering research center in Ashburn, Virginia, where scientists pursue fundamental questions in the life sciences. Our integrated teams of biologists, computational scientists, and tool-builders innovate research practices and technologies to solve biology's deepest mysteries. HHMI launched Janelia in 2006, establishing an intellectually enriching environment for scientists to do creative, collaborative, hands‑on work. We share our methods, results, and tools with the scientific community.

About Janelia

Janelia Research Campus is an HHMI research institute built to tackle scientific problems beyond what any single lab or company could sustain. Janelia's next decade centers on two big bets: mapping how a vertebrate brain produces complex behavior, and building "AI-in-the-Loop Discovery," where scientists and AI work together to analyze data, design experiments, and drive discovery at a new scale.

Larval zebrafish and Danionella are key to the first bet. Zebrafish are where Janelia is building the whole-brain imaging pipelines that a viable Danionella platform will depend on, and Danionella - transparent throughout its life - offers a path toward imaging the whole brain of an adult vertebrate during natural, complex behavior, something never before achieved. As this work scales up, Janelia's AAALAC-accredited Vivarium is growing its Aquatics program.

About the Role

This position provides specialized technical services within Janelia's Aquatics program of the Vivarium. These services focus on creating and maintaining genetically modified zebrafish and Danionella colonies in support of Janelia's research program. Working under minimal supervision, provides expertise with hands‑on technical procedures to enable and streamline research.

Schedule Requirements

This position is primarily scheduled during standard business hours, with occasional weekend work as needed.

What We Provide

An opportunity to broaden research experience in a collaborative environment supporting Janelia's whole‑brain vertebrate neuroscience program.

A team that believes in continuous learning and cultivates an environment of collaboration.

Collaboration with research labs and other shared resources, including Molecular Genomics, Viral Tools, Quantitative Genomics, and other Vivarium teams.

What You'll Do

• Perform technical procedures to maintain the zebrafish and danionella colonies, including embryo care, setting up and breaking down crosses, and breeding coordination through establishment of a stable transgenic line.
• Perform reproductive techniques, including embryo microinjections, IVF, recovery of cryopreserved sperm, and female ova expression.
• Conduct whole animal screening, including fluorescent and/or phenotype screening, dye screening, embryo screening, fin clipping (larval, juvenile, and adult), and sperm collection for PCR.
• Track each stage of the microinjection process and provide clear handoffs to Aquatics staff and researchers as embryos progress through early development.
• Maintain transgenic colony records on related data systems, including crossing events, genotyping results, screening observations, injection outcomes, AI-supported screening data, and live-feed culture records that support colony nutrition.
• Communicate with researchers on breeding colony status, microinjection progress, and other updates as needed.

What You Bring

• Associate's or Bachelor's degree in life sciences or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Two years of experience with Aquatic husbandry or laboratory animal care, preferably in a research setting; experience with transgenic colony management is a plus.
• Demonstrated ability to perform moderate technical procedures, such as proficient microscope use, embryo injection, fin clipping, embryo screening, and cross setup/breakdown.
• Experience with reproductive techniques such as microinjection, IVF, or related molecular biology methods is a plus.
• Comfort using database systems for animal recordkeeping.
• Enthusiastic and self‑motivated individual, with the ability to work independently with minimal supervision and learn tasks quickly.
• Excellent skills in Microsoft Office.
• Demonstrated ability to work in a collaborative, rapidly changing team environment to accomplish mutual goals.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills to deal effectively with research scientists, laboratory technical staff, administrative staff, management, outside contractors, and vendors.

Physical Requirements

Remaining in a normal seated or standing position for extended periods of time; reaching and grasping by extending hand(s) or arm(s); dexterity to manipulate objects with fingers, for example using a keyboard; communication skills using the spoken word; ability to see