Sr. Scientist, Microbiology

BioSpecimen Acquisition and Management
Senior Scientist Microbiology

The Opportunity

Join a dedicated team of scientists with diverse expertise within the Biospecimen Acquisition and Management team, part of the broader Diagnostic organization. Our team plays a crucial role in delivering essential biological materials to support product launches in the Molecular and Near Patient Care customer areas. The BioSpecimen Acquisition and Management function is a centralized service function which supports the acquisition, characterization, and management of biological materials, as well as build of select panels for clinical research and cultivation and characterization of various Microorganisms and Mammalian cell lines.

As a Senior Scientist, you will be an integral contributor, facilitating daily laboratory operations and managing sample delivery to fulfill service requests. Your efforts will provide project teams with the critical materials necessary to support new product launches.
This position will be based on-site in Pleasanton, California.

Local Candidates Only

Specific Responsibilities

• Designs, plans, executes assigned project activities using established procedures and applying scientific knowledge and accumulated experience to complete projects involving manipulating human cell lines, microorganisms and/or other biological material.
• Act a project lead; effectively interface with multiple stakeholders and/or internal and external clients to establish timelines and deliverables and meet defined project goals. May work with other members to meet project deliverables.
• Ensures activities are consistent with project critical path, and responds appropriately to changing priorities.
• Accurately and consistently records experimental methods, materials and results in electronic laboratory notebooks.
• Analyzes data, evaluates results, forms conclusions and implements/documents process improvements.
• Integrates previous and current results to determine next experimental steps and the impact of long-range project goals.
• Presents findings at group or departmental meetings. Applies advanced technical writing skills to produce reports and documents. May assist in preparing summaries, memos, internal reports, presentations, manuscripts, etc.
• Work involves troubleshooting and resolving difficult problems in creative ways. Takes a new perspective on existing solutions, exploring and implementing new concepts and methodologies
• Contributes to the definition and timely achievement of overall project goals, and resolves scientific problems encountered during experimental procedures to improve productivity of results
• Serves as a resource to other departments (e.g., Manufacturing/Operations, Quality, Marketing, Regulatory Affairs, Clinical Studies, and International Technical Services), provides timely response and follow-ups. Participates in the expeditious transfer of products and technologies by providing scientific knowledge and assistance.

Position Requirements & Experience

• Master's/Bachelor's in Molecular Biology, Cellular Biology, or Microbiology with 5/7 years relevant industry experience.
• Hands-on work in the laboratory to culture various microorganisms is required.
• Experience culturing within an anaerobic chamber preferred
• Experience performing bacterial enumeration, MPN and identification with MALDI-TOF. Familiarity with microbial taxonomy and identification.
• Experience with ddPCR is a plus.
• Must be able to manually manipulate samples (plating, pipetting, labeling and vialing) on a routine basis.
• Must be able to work in a laboratory environment on a daily basis under BSL-2 laboratory conditions. May work a variety of infectious human material (HxV, pathogenic bacteria, engineered material, etc) and sample types (blood, serum, urine, stool etc).
• Must be able to work in a dynamic and collaborative team environment with multiple stakeholders across the organization.

Preferred:

• Flexibility with respect to projects, unique biological material handling requirements, and meeting client/organizational goals and expectations.
• Excellent analytical, problem solving, communication skills and strong data analysis skills.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a fast-paced and cross-functional team.
• Good work ethic with a 'can-do' mentality and interest in approaching challenging questions with attention to details and independent, critical thinking.
• Able to grasp new concepts quickly.
• Advanced knowledge of LIMS software and eLN.
• Experience with ddPCR.
• Project Management experience.