Research Science/Engineering Assistant

Job Posting Title:

Research Science/Engineering Assistant

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Hiring Department:

Department of Chemistry

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Position Open To:

All Applicants

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Weekly Scheduled Hours:

40

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FLSA Status:

Non-Exempt from FLSA

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Earliest Start Date:

Oct 19, 2026

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Position Duration:

Expected to Continue Until Oct 19, 2027

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Location:

UT MAIN CAMPUS

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Job Details:

General Notes

This position requires someone with skills in organic chemistry, biological sciences and/or analytical, mass spectrometry and instrumentation. In the field of chemical biology and proteomics, all of these disciplines play a role and if you have all or any of these skills, we would like to talk to you about joining our team.

Purpose

The laboratory of Dr. Ku-lung (Ken) Hsu in the Department of Chemistry, Division of Chemical Biology and Proteomics at the University of Texas at Austin is recruiting several highly motivated individuals to work as a research scientist, level dependent on previous experience. These positions are intended for bachelors and masters level graduates with 0 to 10 years of experience who are interested in gaining valuable experience and furthering the research goals of the laboratory. You will work closely with the laboratory manager, post-docs and graduate students in the completion of assigned tasks. A high level of independence is required once a task is assigned.

This is a fixed term position and extensions are renewable based upon availability of funding, work performance, and progress toward research goals.

Responsibilities

• Assisting with routine lab management to ensure that lab is in working order. This includes assisting the lab manager with ordering and inventory of supplies and chemicals, disposing of chemicals, laboratory training, and maintain any instrumentation and laboratory equipment you use. The candidate is also expected to participate in regular group meetings and provide updates and progress reports as required.
• Rodent care- Depending on interest and experience you may also be required to perform or assist in managing the rodent colony (compound treatments, xenograft models, genotyping, routine weighing recording animal health, pre and post-operative care, recording experimental procedures). To perform or assist in experiments related to the fields of immunology, cancer, and neuroscience.
• To perform cell isolations/culture and/or molecular biology and/or chemical synthesis and/or operate laboratory instruments and equipment. Depending on your area of experience or interest, this will include molecular biology, mammalian cell culture, biochemistry, flow cytometry or culturing cells. Experiments will involve performing fluorescence gels, protein purification, affinity chromatography, Western blots, ELISAs and other assay work. You may need to operate a centrifuge, gel imager, cell counter as well as automated liquid handlers. As a chemical proteomics laboratory, we also operate several mass spectrometers and you may also need to be trained to use these instruments.
• The scientist with experience or interest in organic synthesis will be expected to use and understand the standard tools and skills including setting up and isolation of pure reaction products and analytical techniques such as flash chromatography (Biotage, CombiFlash or other automated system), NMR and HPLC.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in scientific discipline.
• Laboratory experience (1-10 years)
• Maintain a complete and comprehensive laboratory notebook
• Excellent organizational and time-management skills.
• Experience with a minimum of one of the following: chemical proteomics, biochemistry, cell biology, mass spectroscopy, synthetic chemistry, flow cytometry, molecular biology or analytical instrumentation.

Relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in more than one of the required qualifications outlined above.
• Proficiency with Excel and other Windows programs (Word, PowerPoint, etc.).
• Proficiency with literature searches and science writing.
• Experience in chemical proteomics and operation of mass spectrometers (1 position) or several years of experience as a synthetic organic chemist (1 position).

Salary Range

$42,000 + depending on qualifications

Working Conditions

• Uniforms and/or personal protection equipment (furnished)
• May work in standard office conditions, extreme temperatures, around chemical fumes, chemicals, biohazards, electrical and mechanical hazards, animals, etc.
• Repetitive use of a keyboard at a workstation
• Use of manual dexterity
• Climbing of stairs
• Climbing of ladders
• Lifting and moving

Work Shift

This full-time position, like most research positions, requires working flexible hours which may include weekends, evenings, or early mornings.

Required Materials

• Resume/CV
• 3 work references with their contact information; at least one reference should be from a supervisor
• Letter of interest

Important for applicants who are NOT current university employees or contingent workers: You will be prompted to submit your resume the first time you apply, then you will be provided an option to upload a new Resume for subsequent applications. Any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) will be uploaded in the Application Questions section; you will be able to multi-select additional files. Before submitting your online job application, ensure that ALL Required Materials have been uploaded.  Once your job application has been submitted, you cannot make changes.

Important for Current university employees and contingent workers: As a current university employee or contingent worker, you MUST apply within Workday by searching for Find UT Jobs. If you are a current University employee, log-in to Workday, navigate to your Worker Profile, click the Career link in the left hand navigation menu and then update the sections in your Professional Profile before you apply. This information will be pulled in to your application. The application is one page and you will be prompted to upload your resume. In addition, you must respond to the application questions presented to upload any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) that were noted above.

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Employment Eligibility:

Regular staff who have been employed in their current position for the last six continuous months are eligible for openings being recruited for through University-Wide or Open Recruiting, to include both promotional opportunities and lateral transfers. Staff who are promotion/transfer eligible may apply for positions without supervisor approval.

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Retirement Plan Eligibility:

The retirement plan for this position is Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS), subject to the position being at least 20 hours per week and at least 135 days in length.

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Background Checks:

A criminal history background check will be required for finalist(s) under consideration for this position.

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Equal Opportunity Employer:

The University of Texas at Austin, as an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, complies with all applicable federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action. The University is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, religion, or veteran status in employment, educational programs and activities, and admissions.

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Pay Transparency:

The University of Texas at Austin will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information.

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Employment Eligibility Verification:

If hired, you will be required to complete the federal Employment Eligibility Verification I-9 form.  You will be required to present acceptable and original documents to prove your identity and authorization to work in the United States.  Documents need to be presented no later than the third day of employment.  Failure to do so will result in loss of employment at the university.

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E-Verify:

The University of Texas at Austin use E-Verify to check the work authorization of all new hires effective May 2015. The university’s company ID number for purposes of E-Verify is 854197. For more information about E-Verify, please see the following:

• E-Verify Poster (English and Spanish) [PDF]
• Right to Work Poster (English) [PDF]
• Right to Work Poster (Spanish) [PDF]

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Compliance:

Employees may be required to report violations of law under Title IX and the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act). If this position is identified a Campus Security Authority (Clery Act), you will be notified and provided resources for reporting. Responsible employees under Title IX are defined and outlined in HOP-3031.

The Clery Act requires all prospective employees be notified of the availability of the Annual Security and Fire Safety report. You may access the most recent report here or obtain a copy at University Compliance Services, 1616 Guadalupe Street, UTA 2.206, Austin, Texas 78701.