Cell & Molecular Biology Specialist

Company Overview:

Luna Labs USA is a leading defense contractor in central Virginia and a high-throughput innovation engine for the aerospace, defense, and healthcare industries. Our diverse capabilities in materials, biotech, and engineered systems allow us to collaborate to address unique and complex problems faced by our customers. We partner with universities, government labs, and the best companies in the world to explore feasibility of new ideas, align technologies with customer needs, and generate solutions. Working with a robust global network of manufacturers, suppliers, licensees, and distributors, Luna Labs develops everything from small-scale prototypes to market-ready products.

Group Summary:

Luna Labs' Biotech Group is committed to addressing critical technical challenges in modern healthcare. This multidisciplinary team drives advancements in medical technology through close partnerships with clinicians and external researchers in diverse fields including implantable materials, clinical diagnostics, device design, drug and vaccine delivery, and medical simulation.

Job Summary

The Cell and Molecular Biology Specialist has significant hands-on industrial experience in cell biology, cell culture, molecular biology, and the related. The role will lead and design cell and tissue culture efforts on a variety of technology development programs, specifically in the vaccine and therapeutic delivery space, and provides subject matter expertise and pre-clinical study guidance for our NanoVac delivery platform. Additionally, this role also provides SME support to other biomaterials and diagnostic programs as the need arises. Other primary responsibilities and duties associated with this role include, but are not limited to, the following:

Primary Responsibilities

• Serve as subject matter expert for cell culture laboratory work for a variety of biomedical research programs.
• Select approach, design experiment, and conduct a variety of cell and molecular studies for the development and in vitro testing of new biomedical technologies with applications such as wound healing, drug, and vaccine delivery.
• Effectively communicate and collaborate with program managers and team members to translate core program objectives into appropriate study plans and protocols.
• Record, analyze, summarize, and communicate information on procedures and results.
• Effectively manage, support, and prioritize a variety of activities across concurrent programs.
• Manage cell and molecular biology aspects of research and development projects, including experimental design, problem solving, data interpretation, and some report writing.
• Participate and drive the transition of new technologies into product concepts, prototype design, and commercialization, with focus on de-risking of pharma and vaccine delivery technologies in the pre-clinical validation space.

Required Qualifications:

• Master's or Bachelor's degree in biology, biomedical engineering, biomaterials, or related field.
• Minimum of 10 years hands-on cell culture professional experience in an industry or research environment.
• Demonstrated familiarity with a variety of relevant cell and molecular biology methods, such as fluorescence microscopy, immunocytochemistry, live/fixed staining, cytotoxicity assays, flow cytometry, ELISA, Western-blot, etc.
• Previous work with a variety of different cell types and sources, with exposure to primary and/or immune cells is required.
• Experience with 3D culture, co-culture systems, predictive in vitro models, and/or integration with biomaterials is preferred.
• Experience with nucleic acid purification, PCR, and gene expression studies is a plus.
• Due to government contracting regulations, U.S. Citizenship is a firm requirement

Attributes

• Impeccable Ethics
• Enthusiastic; Problem Solver
• Self-Accountable
• Strong Sense of Team
• Decisive
• Bias for Action

Supervisory Role:

No

Work Environment:

• Duties may occasionally be completed remotely using secure company equipment and software, at the supervisor's discretion.
• Occasional travel to client sites, conferences, and related events is required.
• The role involves working in a laboratory environment and interacting with technical staff.
• Ability to lift and carry up to 100lbs may be required.