Senior/Staff Research Associate – Anaerobic Fermentation & Flow Cytometry

About the role

Pendulum, a company focused on therapeutic probiotics based on the human microbiome, is hiring a Senior Research Associate (or Staff Research Associate depending on experience) for its Product Development team in San Francisco. The role carries significant responsibility across fermentation operations and flow cytometry workflows, supporting anaerobic probiotic strain production and strain quality control, as well as other exploratory lab work. It supports both improvements to current products and the development of new ones.

Key responsibilities

• Independently operate DASGIP bioreactor systems for anaerobic probiotic strain fermentation, including sterile setup, inoculation and process monitoring
• Lead and manage design of experiments for anaerobic fermentation
• Run and analyze flow cytometry assays for strain quality control and process development, managing work across multiple concurrent projects and becoming a subject matter expert in flow cytometry
• Execute rigorous aseptic and anaerobic techniques across fermentation and general microbiology work
• Manage and organize assay workflows, draft protocols and support day-to-day lab operations
• Work with cross-disciplinary teams on experimental design, execution and data analysis
• Stay up to date on current scientific literature in microbiology

Required profile

• B.S. with 4+ years of experience after graduation, or M.S. graduate
• Expertise in aseptic techniques, anaerobic bacterial growth and independent operation of bioreactor systems such as DASGIP
• Expertise in flow cytometry for live/dead bacterial cell classification
• Ability to work independently and contribute to a fast-paced, multi-functional team
• Experience writing SOPs, documenting and tracking lot numbers, and using lab management systems
• Comfortable handling human and animal samples, including stool, skin and blood (preferred)
• Good oral and written presentation skills

Required skills

• Familiarity with Microsoft Office, Google apps, basic data analysis and basic AI tools
• Experience with shelf-life and stability testing of live biotherapeutics or probiotics (a plus)
• Familiarity with real-time and accelerated stability study design and execution (a plus)

What we offer

• Salary of $110,500 - $123,500
• Medical, dental and vision insurance, life and STD insurance
• Commuter benefits and flexible time off
• Company match on 401(k) and equity