Flow Cytometry Research Technician Job in Boston

Flow Cytometry Research Technician

Job Summary: Operates and maintains flow cytometry instrumentation with limited supervision and is expected to identify and handle equipment malfunction and/or adjustments as needed to ensure the highest quality of operation as possible. Excellent collaborative and interpersonal skills required to assist multiple professionals including Principal Investigators, Research Fellows and Graduate Students.

Essential Responsibilities:

  1. Operates and maintains flow cytometry instrumentation with limited supervision and is expected to identify and handle equipment malfunction and/or adjustments as needed to ensure the highest quality of operation as possible.
  2. Assists and trains technicians, research fellows and graduate students to use flow cytometry equipment.
  3. Collaborates with supervisor in writing and editing materials for publication. May assist in preparing manuscripts and writing abstracts. May write portion(s) of grant applications, eg: materials and methods, or experimental design.
  4. May present papers at society meetings. Attends conferences and courses, consults with other researchers and participates in professional activities to keep abreast of the latest technological developments as they relate to the research. Evaluates the applicability of these new developments and implements their use in collaboration with the principal investigator
  5. Operates flow cytometry instrumentation for the specific purpose of analyzing biological specimens within the Division of Viral Pathogenesis and, trains and assist sGraduate Students, Postdoctoral Fellows and Investigators in the use of instrumentation and design of the experiments and perform research projects under the limited direction of the Technical Director.
  6. This work involves the development of novel vaccine strategies and their evaluation in preclinical mouse and nonhuman primate studies. In particular, polychromatic flow cytometry will be utilized to determine preclinical parameters for better characterization of pathogenic lymphocyte subset changes in unvaccinated and vaccinated rhesus monkeys that get challenged with pathogenic SIV.
  7. Generation of flow cytometry specimens by cell surface or intracellular staining.
  8. Acquisition and analysis of biological specimens using vendor-specific computer programs.

Required Qualifications:

  1. Bachelor's degree required in Natural Sciences. Master's degree preferred in Natural Sciences
  2. 1-3 years related work experience required.
  3. A detailed knowledge about polychromatic flow cytometry (instrumentation, dye combinations, experimental set up and analysis) are essential.
  4. Advanced skills with Microsoft applications which may include Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Access and other web-based applications. May produce complex documents, perform analysis and maintain databases.

Preferred Qualifications:

  1. Bachelor's degree and 1 year of experience or a Master's degree with requisite knowledge and skills.

Competencies:

  1. Written Communications:Ability to communicate clearly and effectively in written English with internal and external customers.
  2. Oral Communications:Ability to comprehend and converse in English to communicate effectively with medical center staff, patients, families and external customers.
  3. Knowledge:Ability to demonstrate full working knowledge of standard concepts, practices, procedures and policies with the ability to use them in varied situations.
  4. Team Work:Ability to work collaboratively in small teams to improve the operations of immediate work group by offering ideas, identifying issues, and respecting team members.
  5. Customer Service:Ability to provide a high level of customer service to patients, visitors, staff and external customers in a professional, service-oriented, respectful manner using skills in active listening and problem solving. Ability to remain calm in stressful situations.

Physical Nature of the Job:
Medium work: Exerting up to 50 pounds of force occasionally and or up to 20 pounds of force frequently. Job is physical in nature and employee needs to stand and/or move around through the majority of their shift.