Cryo-FIB Research Specialist

Primary Work Address: 19700 Helix Drive, Ashburn, VA, 20147

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The Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Janelia Research Campus is a pioneering research center in Ashburn, Virginia, where scientists pursue fundamental questions in the life sciences. Our integrated teams of biologists, computational scientists, and tool-builders innovate research practices and technologies to solve biology’s deepest mysteries. HHMI launched Janelia in 2006, establishing an intellectually enriching environment for scientists to do creative, collaborative, hands-on work. We share our methods, results, and tools with the scientific community.

This is a role for someone who wants to spend their days at the controls of some of the most advanced microscopes in the world, doing the same careful prep and imaging work reliably, day after day, and building something new when the situation calls for it.

The cryoEM Shared Resource at Janelia Research Campus supports cryo-electron microscopy research for the entire HHMI community, not just the scientists on campus. The facility runs four Titan Krios microscopes, two cryo-FIB/SEM systems (an Aquilos2 and a Helios Hydra), cryo light microscopes, and the equipment needed to prepare cryo-EM grids. It is one of the busiest, most technically demanding resources HHMI operates.

You will focus on cryo-FIB/SEM, cryo-light microscopy and CLEM, and advanced cryo-EM sample preparation. Most of your time goes to routine operation: preparing samples, milling with the FIB, imaging, and collecting data for facility users and collaborators. When an existing protocol does not cover what a project needs, you will help build or adapt one. You will also keep up with the literature and emerging technologies in the field and bring back ideas that could make the facility better, and you will train other scientists in techniques you have already mastered.

You will work closely with facility staff and with research groups from across the country, some of whom you will never meet in person. Part of the job is translating what a researcher needs into a concrete imaging or sample-prep plan, and telling them plainly when something is not going to work.

What you will actually do

• Run sample preparation, cryo-FIB milling, and imaging for facility users and collaborative projects, day in and day out. This routine operation and data collection is the core of the job.

• Operate, maintain, and configure the cryo-FIB/SEM systems, cryo light microscopes, and sample-prep equipment.

• Collect and organize imaging and experimental data, and keep accurate daily records of instrument use and equipment performance.

• Judge whether an image, a milled sample, or a prep run is good enough to use, and know what to change when it is not.

• Troubleshoot problems across hardware, software, and technique, working through SOPs and literature before pulling in a vendor or colleague.

• Consult with researchers on experimental design and sample strategy, and guide them on what is feasible and realistic

• When an existing protocol doesn't cover what a project needs, build or adapt one, from sample prep through, FIB milling, imaging and data correlation.

• Review the scientific literature and new technologies, and bring back and implement ideas that could improve the facility's methods and capabilities.

• Train users and staff on cryo-FIB, cryo-CLEM, and sample prep workflows, including hands-on demonstration.

• Help plan facility capabilities, order supplies, and schedule instrument time.

What we are looking for

• Hands-on with cryo already. You've pre

pared samples, milled, or imaged on a cryo-FIB/SEM or cryo-EM system before. This is not a role to learn the fundamentals from scratch.

• A steady hand with expensive machines. You can operate, troubleshoot, and get real performance out of instruments like a Titan Krios or a Helios Hydra without white-knuckling it.

• Meticulous without being told. Logs, sample tracking, and daily records happen because you do them, not because someone checks.

• Invested in getting it right, not just getting it done. When a result looks off, you follow it through until you're confident in it, because you care whether the science holds up, not just whether the step is checked off.

• Judgment you can defend. You can look at an image or a milled sample and say, honestly, whether it's good enough to move forward or needs another pass.

• A teacher who doesn't need a script. You can walk a first-time user through a delicate procedure and make it look less intimidating than it is.

• Comfortable with the unknown, when it comes up. Most days you're running an established workflow well. When a sample doesn't behave and there's no protocol for it, you can build one instead of stalling out. You stay steady when the path isn't clear and figure out next steps without being walked through them.

• Genuinely curious about the science. You follow the literature and new techniques as they emerge, and you bring back ideas that could make the facility better, not just when someone asks you to.

• Owning your part of a shared process. From sample prep to final imaging, a sample may pass through several steps and several hands. You take responsibility for the work you touch, and when something goes wrong, you speak up early and work with colleagues and users to fix it.

Nice to have

• Familiarity with image-correlation or 3D visualization software.

• Experience training researchers in complex technical procedures.

• Strong computer skills, including comfort picking up new instrument-control and data-handling software.

What this role is not

• A role where every day brings a brand-new scientific problem. A good part of the work is running established sample-prep, milling, and imaging workflows well, not inventing something new each time.

• A role where every protocol is always handed to you fully worked out. Most of the time it will be, but occasionally there isn't one yet, and building it is your job.

• A pure equipment-maintenance position. You'll help keep the instruments running, but the point of the role is what you get out of them scientifically, not just keeping them online.

• Your own independent research program. You're supporting research across the HHMI community, not pursuing your own project line.

Practical details

This is an on-site role at Janelia Research Campus in Ashburn, Virginia, working hands-on with the instruments in the cryoEM Shared Resource. It requires a minimum of 4 years research experience and some prior hands-on experience with cryo-FIB/SEM, cryo-EM sample preparation, or cryo-light microscopy techniques, along with a master’s degree or higher in biology, biochemistry, biophysics, chemistry, engineering, microscopy, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and research experience.

Physical Requirements

Remaining in a normal seated or standing position for extended periods of time; reaching and grasping by extending hand(s) or arm(s); dexterity to manipulate objects with fingers, for example using a keyboard; communication skills using the spoken word; ability to see and hear within normal parameters; ability to move about workspace. The position requires mobility, including the ability to move materials weighing up to several pounds (such as a laptop computer or tablet). Work may involve possible exposure to malodorous vapors, low dose radiation, contamination by toxic chemicals and acids and presence of carcinogenic substances or other hazardous materials.

Persons with disabilities may be able to perform the essential duties of this position with reasonable accommodation. Requests for reasonable accommodation will be evaluated on an individual basis.

Please Note:

This job description sets forth the job’s principal duties, responsibilities, and requirements; it should not be construed as an exhaustive statement, however.  Unless they begin with the word “may,” the Essential Duties and Responsibilities described above are “essential functions” of the job, as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Hiring Pay Range

Research Specialist I: $71,760.00 - $89,700.00

Research Specialist II: $83,760.00 - $104,700.00

Pay Type:

Annual

The posted range reflects HHMI’s good faith estimate of the anticipated hiring salary range for this role at the time of posting. Actual hiring compensation is determined by a candidate’s qualifications, experience, and internal equity.

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Compensation and Benefits

Our employees are compensated from a total rewards perspective in many ways for their contributions to our mission, including competitive pay, exceptional health benefits, retirement plans, time off, and a range of recognition and wellness programs. Visit our Benefits at HHMI site to learn more. 

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