Postdoctoral Associate - Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering

Position Summary:

The Zhang lab in the George R. Brown School of Engineering and Computing at Rice University is seeking a Postdoctoral Research Associate to contribute to research in cell-free synthetic biology. The postdoctoral associate will work with Dr. Yan Zhang and members of the research team to develop and execute experimental approaches involving cell-free systems, biological constructs, extracts, and related assays.

The position will contribute to the design, execution, analysis, and interpretation of research studies and will help advance experimental workflows as research questions and project needs evolve. The postdoctoral associate will collaborate with graduate students, research staff, and external research partners and will contribute to the documentation, communication, and dissemination of research findings.

Special Instructions to Applicants:

All interested applicants should attach a resume in the Supporting Documents section of the application, preferably in a PDF format to avoid any formatting issues.

Workplace Requirements:

This position is exclusively on-site, necessitating all duties to be performed in-person at Rice University Campus. Per Rice policy 440, work arrangements may be subject to change

Hiring Range: $50,000 - $55,000 annually

This is a one year, full-time, benefits eligible position funded by a grant, soft and/or restricted funds, and may be renewed based on continued funding availability, ongoing research needs, and performance.

Minimum Requirements:

• Ph.D. in Bioengineering, chemical engineering biology, biochemistry, synthetic biology or closely related field buy the start date 

• No additional experience beyond graduate research required

Preferences:

• Experience conducting laboratory research in synthetic biology, molecular biology, bioengineering, or a related field.

• Hands-on experience with molecular cloning, protein and gene expression, and related experimental workflows.

• Experience with mass spectrometry, bioinformatics, quantitative data analysis, and/or Python-based research tools.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills and ability to work independently in a collaborative research environment.

• Experience mentoring students, training laboratory members, or contributing to scholarly publications and presentations.

Essential Functions:

• Conducts research on the development and characterization of cell-free gene expression systems for programmable biological function.

• Designs and executes experiments involving molecular cloning, protein expression, gene expression, and related synthetic biology workflows.

• Performs mass spectrometry-based characterization and quantitative analysis of experimental data.

• Analyzes bioinformatics and other research data using Python and related computational tools.

• Develops, evaluates, and refines experimental approaches as research objectives evolve.

• Interprets research findings and identifies appropriate next steps in collaboration with the principal investigator and research team.

• Prepares figures, manuscripts, conference presentations, and technical content for grant reports.

• Collaborates with graduate students and other research personnel on shared projects.

• Mentors undergraduate researchers and trains new laboratory members in relevant methods and workflows.

• Maintains complete and accurate research records and documentation.

• Performs all other duties as assigned.

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Rice University is committed to ensuring Equal Employment Opportunity and welcoming the fullness of diversity into our candidate pools. Rice considers qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, genetic information, disability, or protected veteran status. Rice also provides reasonable accommodations to qualified persons with disabilities. If an applicant requires a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or hiring process, please get in touch with Rice University’s Human Resources Office via email at [email protected] for support.

If you have any additional questions, please email us at [email protected] . Thank you for your interest in employment with Rice University.