Biological Engineer

Overview

AcubeSAT’s Payload is a novel autonomous and miniaturized biological laboratory, designed to perform multiple high-throughput biological/biochemical experiments in-orbit.

Position Description

Biological engineers in the team are responsible for designing and implementing the mission experiment, to study the dynamic response of S. cerevisiae’s proteome in the conditions of Low Earth Orbit. You will get to work with state-of-the-art equipment and novel methods inside a wide range of facilities. The students selected for this position will contribute to:

• Yeast strain engineering, such as genomic tag selection for in-orbit proteome interrogation
• Developing pre-flight preservation methods, including sporulation and desiccation protocols
• Performing microfluidics-based growth assays with time-lapse microscopy
• Running strain radiation sensitivity experiments

Preferred Skills

• Experience in handling laboratory equipment
• Able to adhere to lab safety conditions
• Knowledge of basic statistics
• Passionate about learning and applying quantitative and engineering concepts to biology
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment under pressure
• Capable of working well in multidisciplinary groups of peers

Optional Skills

• Familiarity with molecular biology workflows (e.g. cloning methods, PCR)
• Experience with microscopy (e.g. brightfield, fluorescence)
• Prototyping skills (e.g. 3D printing)
• Experience with microfluidics (e.g. soft lithography)
• Experience with programming