Associate Scientist - Skin Biology

JOB DESCRIPTION 

A S S O C I A T E S C I E N T I S T - 

S K I N B I O L O G Y

ABOUT THE COMPANY:

Arcaea is a biology-first beauty company building a new ingredient toolset for the beauty and personal care industry. We are creating pioneering ingredients, products, and stories accessible uniquely through biology. 

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OVERVIEW:

We are seeking an enthusiastic and efficient research associate level cell biologist with experience culturing and running experiments with mammalian cells. This role will apply both simple and complex models of mammalian epidermal cell culture to model the responses of the skin to various stimuli. The candidate will use molecular and imaging based techniques.. Additionally, the candidate will work together with the greater technical team to maintain a tidy, organized, and functional laboratory space. 

While Arcaea’s headquarters is located in the Boston Seaport area, this role will spend considerable time in our temporary Watertown tissue culture lab (until the company relocates into our final office/lab space in the Boston area). 

This role is important to the establishment of Arcaea’s internal skin biology research capabilities and reports to the senior scientist for skin biology. An intrepid pioneering growth mindset with solid fundamentals in cell biology and an appreciation for how various cells and niches of the skin combine to maintain the body’s largest and most conspicuous organ is desired.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Conduct cell culture experiments including troubleshooting and optimization
• Prepare tissue samples and cut wax and cryo sections 
• Conduct routine and non-routine chromogenic and fluorescent staining
• Conduct qPCR and western blot analysis
• Conduct routine image collection and analysis
• Inventory and equipment management as it relates to cell culture and histology duties including cells, slides, tissues, reagents, and data
• Flexibility to assist with other functionalities to facilitate meeting project deadlines as needed

QUALIFICATIONS / SKILLS: 

• Bachelors or Masters degree in biology, cell biology, molecular biology, or related field
• Minimum of 2 years of industry experience
• Experienced with diversified primary and immortalized mammalian cell culture (e.g. keratinocytes, fibroblasts, T-cells), preference for those with experience differentiating cells
• Experienced with Taqman based qPCR assays, fluorescence and brightfield microscopy
• Experienced with preparation of cells for various molecular, biochemical, and imaging based analytical endpoints
• Willingness to learn the preparation and handling of tissue samples for histological analysis
• Highly observant, strong attention to detail and proven note taking skills 
• Able to effectively communicate experimental results, challenges, questions, and proposals

We feel that it’s important to point out the obvious here – there’s a serious lack of diversity in both the scientific fields and beauty industry, and that needs to change. Our goal is to help drive that change. We are deeply committed to diversity, equality, and inclusion in all its practices, especially when it comes to growing our team. Our culture promotes inclusion and embraces how rewarding it is to work with people from all walks of life.

We’re working with the powerful biological engineering platform at Ginkgo Bioworks, so we must remain mindful of the many ways our technology can – and will – impact people around the world. Ginkgo and Arcaea care about how this platform and the products created are used. Having a diverse team to build it gives us the best chance that it’s something we’ll be proud of as it continues to grow. Therefore, it’s critical that we incorporate the diverse voices and visions of all those who play a role in the future of biology in every industry.

It is the policy of Arcaea to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and employment applicants.