Senior Research Associate (Laboratory Operations)

Berkeley Lab's (LBNL) Biosciences Area Office (BSAO) has an opening for a Senior Research Associate to provide laboratory support to Principal Investigators (PI's) and Researchers in collaboration with stakeholders to ensure efficient research operations and the highest degree of laboratory safety. In this role, you will support the day-to-day operations of the Emery Station East (ESE) Microbial Strain Archive, including long-term goals of the strain archiving.

This position has an anticipated start date of June 10, 2024.

What You Will Do:

• Work with the Laboratory Operations (LabOps) team on routine operations procedures following Standard Operating Procedures (SOP's), maintain databases for Service Agreements, Certificate of Insurance (COI), and Subcontractor Job Hazards Analysis (SJHA) ensuring requirements are met.
• Assist with the operation and regular maintenance of laboratory resources, including managing equipment service agreements, working with vendors to procure items, organizing onsite activities by service providers, ensuring they comply with applicable safety policies.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to resolve issues related to research operations and safety in the laboratory, communicating progress as appropriate, tracking work orders using JIRA Service Management (JSM).
• Act as one of several delegates maintaining the chemical inventory management system, ensuring hazardous chemicals are appropriately tagged, recorded in the database, removed and/or transferred as needed and upon departures/lab checkouts.
• Serve as the custodian of the Strain Archive, a collection of approximately 30,000 microbial strains and plasmids unique to these programs.
• Retrieve, grow, and deliver a high volume of microbial strain samples from the archive as requested for research.
• Prepare long-term storage stocks for deposition and ensure each newly archived strain is documented as appropriate with updated publication and intellectual property information.
• Work to develop, improve, and implement protocols for microbial strain storage, distribution, and documentation.
• Communicate with LBNL and UC Berkeley legal staff to prepare and distribute relevant Material Transfer Agreements (MTAs) pertaining to the Strain Archive for outside institutions.

What is Required:

• A Bachelor's Degree (or equivalent knowledge/training) in Molecular Biology, Microbiology, or a related discipline and a minimum of 2 years of relevant experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Experience with Microbiology including aseptic technique, preparation of media with antibiotics, streaking for isolation, and use of life science laboratory equipment.
• Experience with workplace safety procedures, regulations, and requirements and/or hazardous chemical management.
• Demonstrated proficiency with a variety of web-based data and office software including MS Office Suite, Google Workspace, Adobe Suite, etc.
• Strong oral and written communication skills including experience maintaining detailed and accurate laboratory records and documents.
• Demonstrated interpersonal skills including the ability to work independently and collaboratively in a diverse multidisciplinary laboratory environment.

Desired Qualifications:

• A Master's Degree (or equivalent knowledge/training) in Molecular Biology, Microbiology, or a related discipline.
• Experience in laboratory operations.
• Experience with bacterial and yeast strain storage protocols.
• Experience with JIRA Service Management (JSM).

Notes:

• For first consideration, please submit a resume by May 29, 2024.
• This is a full-time career appointment, exempt (monthly paid) from overtime pay.
• This position is expected to pay $64,056 - $81,600 per year for job code 381.2, which fits within the full salary range of $64,056 - $99,132 per year. Salary for this position will be commensurate with the final candidate's qualifications and experience, including skills, knowledge, relevant education, certifications, plus also aligned with the internal peer group.
• This position is represented by a union for collective bargaining purposes.
• This position may be subject to a background check. Any convictions will be evaluated to determine if they directly relate to the responsibilities and requirements of the position. Having a conviction history will not automatically disqualify an applicant from being considered for employment.
• This position will be performed onsite at the Emeryville Station East Operations Center (ESE) - Bldg. 978, located at 5885 Hollis Street, Emeryville, CA 94608.
• This position is not eligible for relocation assistance.
• This position is not eligible for visa sponsorship.

Learn About Us:

Berkeley Lab (LBNL) addresses the world's most urgent scientific challenges by advancing sustainable energy, protecting human health, creating new materials, and revealing the origin and fate of the universe. Founded in 1931, Berkeley Lab's scientific expertise has been recognized with 16 Nobel prizes. The University of California manages Berkeley Lab for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science.

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