Career Center

Cures Start Here. At Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, home to three Nobel laureates, interdisciplinary teams of world-renowned scientists seek new and innovative ways to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer, HIV/AIDS and other life-threatening diseases. Fred Hutchs pioneering work in bone marrow transplantation led to the development of immunotherapy, which harnesses the power of the immune system to treat cancer. An independent, nonprofit research institute based in Seattle, Fred Hutch houses the nations first cancer prevention research program, as well as the clinical coordinating center of the Womens Health Initiative and the international headquarters of the HIV Vaccine Trials Network. Careers Start Here.

At Fred Hutch, we believe that the innovation, collaboration, and rigor that result from diversity and inclusion are critical to our mission of eliminating cancer and related diseases. We seek employees who bring different and innovative ways of seeing the world and solving problems. Fred Hutch is in pursuit of becoming an antiracist organization. We are committed to ensuring that all candidates hired share our commitment to diversity, antiracism, and inclusion.

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A Staff Scientist position is available immediately in the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division (VIDD) of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (Fred Hutch), Seattle, WA.

The Johnston Laboratory is an interdisciplinary and highly collaborative team of classically trained microbiologists, synthetic microbiologists, bioinformaticians and engineers. Using cutting edge technologies and methodologies, we seek to gain a deeper functional understanding of what bacteria are doing and how they are doing it. We then use that information to create novel therapeutics and engineer the next generation of microbe-based technologies for application in human medicine, synthetic microbiology and bioengineering.

The successful applicant will work with Dr. Christopher D. Johnston to develop and support expanding synthetic microbiology and epigenome-editing efforts (prokaryote/eukaryote) focused on the human microbiome.

Central responsibilities will include: (i) the management and advancement of multiple ongoing wet-lab research projects - primarily associated with the application of state-of-the-art long-read sequencing technologies (PacBio/Oxford-nanopore) in the context of clinical metagenomics and methylation studies. (ii) Design/engineering/purification and validation of novel CRISPR-Cas/dCas9-effector systems for prokaryotes/eukaryotes. (iii) Continued adoption of novel synthetic biology methodologies/technologies for creative problem-solving during strain engineering across a wide range of bacterial species.

The scientist is expected to drive project design and experimental execution in the wet lab, provide figures and analyses for grant proposals, and present research at scientific meetings. Additionally, the drafting of manuscripts with the PI, relating to multiple ongoing projects and analysis of large in-house genomic datasets, will be a paramount responsibility.

In addition, dependent upon desired career trajectory the scientist will have the option to write independent grant applications within the microbiome space.

• Applicants should have a PhD degree in Genomics, Microbiology, Molecular biology, Bioengineering, or related field
• Candidate must demonstrate outstanding personal initiative and creativity in problem solving, ideally relating to NGS sequencing (PacBio/Oxford nanopore), CRISPR-Cas/dCas9-effectors, epigenomic editing or methylation analyses in eukaryote or prokaryotes
• Proven understanding and expertise in synthetic biology techniques (such as CRISPR-Cas / Transposon mutagenesis / Recombineering / Gene Editing Tools)
• Excellent written and oral communication skills are required for manuscripts/grants preparation, public presentation, and collaboration with other researchers
• Experience with a general scripting languages such as Python, Ruby, Perl, or bash, will be advantageous

Application instructions:
Please include a cover letter with your application, detailing your interest and suitability for this position

A statement describing your commitment and contributions toward greater diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism in your career or that will be made through your work at Fred Hutch is requested of all finalists.

We are proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA) Employer. We are committed to cultivating a workplace in which diverse perspectives and experiences are welcomed and respected. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, ancestry, national origin, sex, age, disability (physical or mental), marital or veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, political ideology, or membership in any other legally protected class. We are an Affirmative Action employer. We encourage individuals with diverse backgrounds to apply and desire priority referrals of protected veterans. If due to a disability you need assistance/and or a reasonable accommodation during the application or recruiting process, please send a request to our Employee Services Center at hrops@fredhutch.org or by calling 206-667-4700.