Compensation Overview

POSITION SUMMARY:

The Associate Scientist within the Molecular Biology product development team will join a tight-knit and cross-functional team of scientists who are tasked with developing and advancing Natera’s oncology product portfolio.

The Associate scientist will be working with internal cross functional teams and applying one’s own expertise to investigate the feasibility of applying a variety of scientific principles and concepts to oncology treatment and monitoring space. Maintains broad knowledge of state-of-the-art principles and theories with an in-depth understanding of applicability to oncology research.

We are looking for a meticulous and dedicated candidate with experience in both assay development and automation that can work effectively in a fast-paced environment to ensure that the highest quality clinical assays are developed and launched for our patients.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Design, develop, and validate automated high-throughput NGS assays that will be run in a commercial CLIA laboratory.
• Independently designs and executes moderate to high complexity experiments.
• Collaborate with assay development scientists on the specifications of assay, reagent, equipment and quality metrics for existing and future production assays.
• Work with Clinical Laboratory and Quality Assurance to ensure that developed methods meet Natera’s rigorous quality standards.
• Coordinate across multiple internal groups (laboratory operations, bioinformatics, statistics, project and product management) and serve as point person to ensure the successful identification and timely execution of projects.
• Write documentation and SOPs, and train lab operations team operators on protocols.
• Participate in post-launch surveillance by troubleshooting production issues, performing root cause analysis on reagent, equipment and assay failures, and identifying areas for continuous improvement.
   

QUALIFICATIONS:

• MS with 3 years experience in assay development and automation for the life science industry.
• Demonstrated track record of development and validation of automated protocols for CLIA.
   

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES:

• Strong understanding of the chemistry underlying nucleic acid extraction, PCR, NGS library preparation, and hybrid capture technologies.
• Hands-on experience in reagent preparation and quality control for NGS-associated assays.
• Experience implementing, optimizing, and troubleshooting high-throughput automated assays utilizing liquid handler robots. 
• Experience designing and executing studies including stability, guardbanding, reproducibility and repeatability, and validation. 
• Experience working in a regulated laboratory environment CLIA/CAP and NYSDOH is a plus. 
• Data analysis skills, coding proficiency (Python or R), and liquid handler programming experience are a plus. 
• Excellent communication, organizational, record-keeping, planning, attention to detail and time management skills. 
• Ability to collaborate cross-functionally with other groups (CLIA, lab operations QA, Automation).