CryoEM Staff Scientist

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

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HHMI Employees, click here to apply via your Workday
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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 their scientific judgment to
show up in other people's data, not just their own.

The CryoEM Shared Resource at Janelia Research Campus runs four
highly configured Titan Krios microscopes, an Aquilos2 and a Hydra
cryo FIBSEM, screening electron microscopes, cryo light
microscopes, and a full grid-preparation setup, serving structural
and cell biologists across the entire HHMI community.

You'll collect high-throughput data for users, take a leading role
in the cryoEM side of collaboration projects, and build new methods
and protocols when the existing ones fall short.

You'll work closely with users and collaborators throughout:
planning experiments together, reviewing what the data shows, and
figuring out the next step as a peer, not just an instrument
operator.

What you will actually do

• Run the microscopes, end to end. Operate and maintain

equipment from sample-preparation systems to the Krios microscopes,
and troubleshoot hardware and software issues directly with peers
and vendor engineers.

• Own pieces of collaboration projects. Take a leading

role in the cryoEM portion of research collaborations, from
planning experiments through reviewing results and proposing next
steps.

• Build new protocols and methods. Develop, implement, and

test new protocols for sample preparation, data collection, and
image processing, and fold what works into the facility's standard
workflow.

• Keep the facility current. Track new developments in

cryoEM and actively bring useful techniques back into the workflow
rather than waiting for someone else to.

• Teach it forward. Train users and new staff on cryoEM

methods and equipment so the facility's expertise doesn't live in
one person's head.

• Handle the physical realities. Manage samples, cryogen

dewars, and dry shippers correctly. A mishandled sample is data
nobody gets back. Manage and transfer data properly.

What we are looking for

• A scientist first. You hold a PhD in a related field and

think about an experiment the way a collaborator would, not just an
instrument operator.

• Fluent in the hardware. Comfortable with Linux, bash

scripting, and basic Python, enough to troubleshoot a problem
rather than just report it.

• Steady inside a moving target. You can hold several

concurrent user projects in your head and still make room for
whatever breaks that day.

• A real teacher. You enjoy explaining a technique as much

as running it, and training someone else doesn't feel like a
distraction from your work.

Nice to have

• Hands-on experience with cryoEM sample preparation, data

collection, or image processing.

• A background in 4D STEM, if you're coming from outside

biology.

• Experience with image-processing software.

What this role is not

• Not a role you can do on scientific judgment alone. You're also

running and troubleshooting sophisticated hardware every day, hands
on.

• Not a role you can do on technical skill alone. You're

constantly translating what a user needs into an experiment, then
explaining the result back to them.

• Not a customer-service role that happens to sit next to a

microscope. The service mindset matters, but so does the science
and the hardware fluency behind it.

Practical details

Based on site at HHMI's Janelia Research Campus in Ashburn,
Virginia. Requires a PhD in a related field. Comes with a
competitive total-rewards package, including on-site childcare,
campus housing, and shuttle service to and from the Washington, DC
metro area.

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).

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.

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.

Hiring Pay Range

$97,082.22 - $121,352.77

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.

HHMI is an Equal Opportunity
Employer

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eligibility of all new hires.