Broad Institute

The Broad Institute is looking for an exceptional candidate for a Senior Bioautomation Engineer position on the PRISM team (part of the Cancer Program). This position affords the exciting opportunity to assist with the design and implementation of a new HighRes integrated system to scale up our current assays for more automated high-throughput phenotypic screening. 

We seek an energetic, motivated individual to join the PRISM team and contribute to multiple ongoing and future collaborative projects. The PRISM technology allows us to routinely profile over 900 DNA-barcoded cell lines with hundreds of therapeutics in a pooled format much more rapidly than traditional cell line screening. The power of PRISM is realized through our vast understanding of the underlying genomic features of the cell lines: every single therapeutic tested with PRISM delivers not only viability information but also a wealth of genomic correlations and multivariate analyses to provide a holistic understanding of drug behavior. We use these features to help identify off-target effects, patient populations, biomarkers of response and of resistance, and much more. We collaborate with many large pharmaceutical companies through the Dependency Map Consortium, biotech companies, academic labs, and internally with labs at the Broad Institute to help discover new cancer therapeutics at all phases of the drug discovery process. 

The successful candidate will work with another engineer to help further automate high-throughput PRISM drug screens by writing and validating new protocols and integrating various robotics instruments using a HighRes system. They will bring experience in programming and operating semi- and fully-automated liquid handling equipment and integration, as well as experience in cell-based assay development.

CHARACTERISTIC DUTIES:

• Develop and optimize methods on fully-automated robotic systems, including calibration, troubleshooting, and repair of associated peripheral devices

• Work with assay biologists to adapt bench assays to fully automated assays with high throughput screening systems

• Act as project manager for small and large scale automation projects (manage, plan, develop, and execute laboratory automation projects from start-up to completion)

• Operate multiple types of automation equipment, including but not limited to HighRes A-cells, Hamilton liquid handlers, BioTek platewashers, Bravos, Tecans

• Ensure high quality, reproducible data is generated by automating and scaling complex workflows in both cell-based assays and NGS

• Schedule and perform quality control (QC) checks of automated systems and instruments

• Assist and train other users in the operation of the various instruments

• Establish and manage standard operating procedures (SOP) for routine and standardized assays/protocols

• Engage with informatics team for seamless integration with in-house LIMS and other databases

• Stay up to date on lab automation advancements and integrate new technologies to enhance lab capabilities and throughput

• Attend team meetings to share results, plan projects and experiments, and ensure that projects support current team goals in a dynamic environment

REQUIREMENTS:

• B.S with a biology background preferred and at least 10 years of professional experience in a research laboratory or HTS facility (or M.S with 6 years of experience)

• Experience with:

• Programming and operating robotic liquid handlers (Hamilton, Beckman Coulter, TECAN, Agilent Technologies, PerkinElmer)

• Developing and implementing integrated robotic systems for use in a high throughput environment (HighRes, BioSero)

• Developing, optimizing, and validating assays for use in a high throughput environment

• Standard molecular biology techniques such as nucleic acid isolation, purification and quantitation, bioanalyzer, DNA/RNA quantitation, qPCR or Next Generation Sequencing

• Familiarity with streamlining workflows and developing automated laboratory processes and instrumentation systems, including collecting and documenting requirements, developing concepts, design, testing/validation, implementing, and training

• Familiarity with Python, Java, or C++ and scripting languages like JavaScript, relational databases, SQL, and LIMS or other relevant enterprise software packages

• Must have excellent written, documentation, and oral communication skills

• Must possess strong interpersonal, organizational, and analytical skills, including the ability to handle a variety of tasks in a fast-paced environment