Merge Labs is a frontier research lab with the mission of bridging biological and artificial intelligence to maximize human ability, agency and experience. We’re pursuing this goal by developingfundamentally new approaches to brain-computer interfaces that interact with the brain at high bandwidth, integrate with advanced AI, and are ultimately safe and accessible for anyone to use.
About the team
Our Bio team designs, builds, and characterizes the biotechnologies that form the foundation of next-generation brain-computer interfaces. We combine molecular engineering, synthetic biology, neuroscience and advanced physical methods such as ultrasound to establish less invasive, high-bandwidth connections with neurons. The Bio team develops our core molecular technologies, validates their performance in vitro and in vivo, and demonstrates their advanced capabilities in animal models. We build custom experimental setups and pipelines and collaborate closely with engineers and data scientists. We work across disciplines to come up with creative ideas and solve some of the most challenging problems in biotechnology.
About the role
As a Scientist in Cell Biology, you will engineer neurons and other cell types to express novel molecular biosensors and/or actuators and evaluate their functionality in enabling cells to interact with ultrasound. You will study their expression, localization, degradation and impact on cell function and health. You will develop protocols for culture, analysis, microscopy, and coupling with physical energy such as ultrasound. Your work will enable the development of breakthrough molecular technologies for neural interfacing and accelerate their translation to clinical use.
In this role, you will:
Develop, maintain, or optimize mammalian cell preparations, including cell lines, primary and iPSC-derived neurons, brain organoids, or brain slices.
Collaboratively design and build novel protein and genetic constructs to enable biosensing and/or actuation functionality.
Develop and perform cell engineering workflows, including construct delivery, selection, and/or differentiation.
Characterize construct functionality and cellular burden using activity recording, microscopy, stimulation, flow cytometry, immunohistochemistry, and/or next-gen sequencing.
Collaborate with cross-disciplinary teams integrating protein engineering, biochemistry, cell biology, neuroscience, genetics, research platform, and computational methods.
Recruit and mentor research associate(s) as needed to expand efforts.
You might thrive in this role if you have:
Ph.D. or equivalent experience leading research projects end-to-end in neuroscience, cell biology, molecular biology, bioengineering, or a related field.
Demonstrated expertise in neuronal cell culture and engineering. Experience with primary neurons, human iPSC-derived neurons, brain organoids, and/or acute/organotypic brain slices highly preferred.
Knowledge of cell pathologies, metabolism, proteostatis, protein trafficking and/or epigenetics
Experience with high-throughput screening, tissue clearing, advanced microscopy, next-gen sequencing, or spatial transcriptomic techniques highly preferred, but not required.
Programming and data analysis skills (Python, MATLAB, or ImageJ/Fiji).
A love of new methods and scientific challenges.
Fun working on multidisciplinary teams, collaborating and communicating with experts across disciplines.
The desire to be part of a fast-paced team working on frontier scientific and technical problems.
Nice to have:
Experience with protein or gene circuit engineering.
Experience with electrophysiology and/or neural circuit interrogation
If you're excited about this role but don't meet every qualification, please apply. As we build, we're hiring for complementary strengths to form a high-impact team.
Merge Labs does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, family status, ancestry, citizenship, U.S. military (state and federal) and veteran status, or any other legally protected status. It is our intention that all applicants be given equal opportunity and that selection decisions are based on job related factors. We are an equal opportunity employer.
Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.
We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities, and requests can be made by emailing accommodations@merge.io.
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