Postdoctoral research fellow / Research engineer

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Research at the Yeh Lab focuses on understudied microbial ecology as solutions for planet health. Evolution was a prolific experimenter, leading to a diversity of organisms with incredible adaptation to the environment they live in. Understanding evolution trajectory offers a blueprint for bioengineering valuable organisms to solve some of the sustainability challenges. One of today’s challenges in agriculture is nitrogen fertilization. While synthetic nitrogen fertilizers account for 40% of the food production, they are also responsible for 2% of the greenhouse gas emissions, which is in the same range as aviation! They also cause coastal ecosystem destruction, creating “dead zones”. After 3 years of studying naturally-occurring nitrogen-fixing symbioses, we are ready to transfer our knowledge to build crops with nitrogen-fixing endosymbionts.

Join a small team with the ambition to operate in a pre-startup mode to generate a prototype plant symbiosis. With our microfluidics collaborator, Dr. Sindy Tang (Stanford), we are developing new technologies to perform plant engineering faster and better. You will be responsible for developing microfluidic devices for plant cell delivery of genes, proteins, and organelles. We are seeking a highly motivated scientist who is willing to scratch their head on an ambitious, high-impact project. The first stage of the project is currently funded by DARPA.

Key Responsibilities and Expectations:

• Design experiments, perform experiments, and analyze data to fabricate and test microfluidic devices for plant cell delivery
• Work cross-functionally with biologist team members toward the goal of plant symbiosis
• Opportunity to mentor intern, rotational student and RA.
• Keep records and report progress with the project leader.
• Works within Environmental, Health & Safety guidelines and identifies and leads implementation of opportunities for improvement.
• Cultivate a fun, friendly, and effective lab culture.
• Operate in a startup-like path

Required Education

& Experience:

• Demonstrated experience with microfluidics design, fabrication, and testing. Prior experience with lipid vesicle engineering, vesicle-cell interactions, or cell fusion experiments is strongly preferred.
• Knowledge of microfluidic techniques for single-cell handling, including lipid vesicle generation, microdevice fabrication and characterization in a cleanroom environment.
• Experience with animal or plant cell work is a plus.
• Proficiency in data analysis and record keeping.
• Strong organizational skills, including an ability to contribute to multiple projects in parallel and navigate changing R&D priorities.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• A Ph.D. in Engineering or Biological sciences is a plus, but not a requirement

What we offer:

• Work that makes an impact on food sustainability and climate change
• Mentoring and growth opportunity
• Exciting opportunity to be part of a pre-startup team
• Postdoc benefits and University benefits.

Stanford is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.