Lab Technician, Strains and Cloning

Join Lumen as a Lab Technician on our Strain Engineering team. In this role, you will help advance Lumen’s early and mid-stage spirulina pipeline. Your work will center on maintaining and assessing cyanobacterial cultures and on keeping our strain engineering workflows running smoothly. You will assist across recombinant DNA construction, genome editing, protein expression screening, and analytical characterization. You will maintain and generate cryogenic stocks of spirulina cell lines, perform media prep and aseptic techniques, monitor growth and quality metrics, and document results in Lumen’s ELN. You will follow and help refine SOPs, operate and care for lab instruments, track samples and reagents, and ensure data are complete, reproducible, and audit ready. You will contribute as a dependable teammate in a fast-paced, cross-functional environment. That includes learning and integrating new technologies, sharing capabilities with partner teams, coordinating to meet milestones and deadlines, and raising quality or troubleshooting issues as they arise. You will communicate status clearly in meetings at the team level and across the company. Success in this role requires strong organization, meticulous record keeping, flexibility, and the independence to learn new techniques while delivering reliable results. Duties & Responsibilities: Strain Engineering and Characterization Grow, maintain, characterize and cryopreserve cyanobacterial cultures; perform sterile handling, media preparation, and passaging. Genotype spirulina strains and maintain accurate records of strain identity. Conduct protein expression experiments and analyze results by SDS-PAGE and Western/Jess; perform ELISA-based titer/functional assays. 20-40% of lab time: assist in cloning tasks such as Golden Gate assembly, plasmid miniprepping, clonal screening, sequencing and cryobanking. Laboratory Techniques and Data Management: Follow established SOPs; optimize or develop new protocols to meet experimental goals with appropriate controls and statistical rigor. Prepare reagents, buffers, and media; manage consumables for assigned workflows. Perform sequencing sample preparation; analyze sequence data to confirm constructs/edits. Maintain accurate, well-organized laboratory notebooks and sample/strain inventories; document work in Benchling (or equivalent ELN/LIMS) with timely written reports and data packages. Summarize and present findings to supervisors and cross-functional stakeholders; contribute to SOP authoring, protocol updates, and continuous improvements in quality and efficiency. Laboratory Operations and Collaboration: Dedicate ~10% of time to supporting general lab operations (maintenance, clean-up, equipment upkeep, inventory, and safety compliance). Work independently while collaborating effectively with Physiology, Protein Expression, Process Development, and Manufacturing teams to meet project milestones. Proactively learn and master new techniques, instruments (e.g., liquid handlers/automation, photobioreactors), and software to enhance laboratory capabilities. Qualifications & Requirements: Education and Experience: BA/BS degree in molecular biology, biochemistry, biotechnology, or a related field. Minimum of two years of applied molecular biology experience. Research experience outside of the classroom strongly preferred. Proficiency in molecular biology techniques including cloning, DNA isolation, PCR, SDS-PAGE, and vector construction is required. Skills and Attributes: Strong attention to detail and organizational skills. Self-starter with the ability to adapt and contribute effectively in a fast-changing environment, and to work independently and in a team-oriented environment. High level of integrity, ethics, and commitment to quality and timely delivery of results. Effective communication skills to coordinate with team members and provide status updates. Physical Requirements : Ability to sit/stand for extended periods of time (2 or more