CALeDNA Assistant Researcher

The University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) invites applications for the position of CALeDNA Assistant Researcher. Under the direction of Dr. Rachel Meyer, the researcher will join the leadership team of CALeDNA to contribute to research, project management, and lab administration. The successful candidate will be a lab project manager for eDNA Explorer projects run through CALeDNA and assist in research that uses a diversity of omics approaches, with an emphasis on eDNA metabarcoding. The candidate will collaborate closely with the eDNA Explorer team, college students, and a wide range of clients and collaborators. Given the nature of the position, the incumbent will have to consistently demonstrate excellent communication and organization skills.

Duties

All facets of the research lifespan must be performed with excellence by the CALeDNA researcher. Sample duties include:

1. Perform lab work to extract DNA, perform qPCR assays, or DNA extraction and PCR optimization for difficult samples.
2. Create genomic, metagenomic, and metabarcoding libraries.
3. Create preliminary quality control analyses of recovered data using bioinformatics approaches and synthesize the research they carry out into summary reports as well as upload data into various repositories, including but not limited to, eDNA Explorer, NCBI, and GBIF.
4. Consult on research with external lab groups. This will include ensuring supplies are sent out and in turn research samples are received back alongside associated documentation and/or data. This also includes reviewing preliminary results, troubleshooting and making reports.
5. Coordinate the laboratories' research space and ensure regulatory compliance for the labs.
6. Contribute to manuscripts on the science being performed.

The selected candidate must be able to learn new techniques, implement protocols with attention to detail, and participate in the research of UCSC faculty through DNA extraction, genomic library preparation, sequencing, analytical measurements, and training users.

Applicants with experience or expertise in the following areas are strongly encouraged to apply:

-Expertise in bioinformatic skills, including proficiency with command-line interfaces, UNIX, and pipelines for quality control analysis of NGS data.

-Experience using various repositories, including but not limited to, eDNA Explorer, NCBI, and GBIF, to upload data.

-Experience in developing liquid handling automation protocols and scripting for platforms (such as the Opentrons OT-2 or Bravo Liquid Handler).

-Experience with Monday.com for task/project management and workflow automation.

-Experience with Atlassian tools (e.g., Jira, Confluence, Trello) for project tracking, documentation, and collaboration.

This candidate would be encouraged to be a supportive member within the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department, by participating in department activities, and being supportive and respectful of their fellow colleagues. As well as helping other labs to utilize the shared molecular resources managed by the Meyer Lab, located at the Coastal Biology Building and the UCSC Paleogenomics Lab.

The hiring unit will not sponsor employment-eligible immigration statuses for this position.

Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department: https://www.eeb.ucsc.edu/

CALeDNA Lab: https://ucedna.com/

• Bachelor's degree or higher (or equivalent foreign degree) in molecular biology, evolutionary biology, or a related scientific field.
• A minimum of two years of post-baccalaureate experience in laboratory research.
• Demonstrated experience with troubleshooting DNA extraction, PCR amplification, genomic library preparation, and DNA sequencing protocols.

As a condition of employment, the finalist will be required to disclose if they are subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct, are currently being investigated for misconduct, left a position during an investigation for alleged misconduct, or have filed an appeal with a previous employer.

• "Misconduct" means any violation of the policies or laws governing conduct at the applicant's previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies or laws prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment, discrimination, dishonesty, or unethical conduct, as defined by the employer.
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