Research Assistant- Microbiology and Molecular Biology

About the role

In a world of possibilities, pursue one with endless opportunities. Imagine Next! At Parsons, you can imagine a career where you thrive, work with exceptional people, and be yourself. Guided by our leadership vision of valuing people, embracing agility, and fostering growth, we cultivate an innovative culture that empowers you to achieve your full potential. Unleash your talent and redefine what’s possible. Parsons is seeking Research Assistants – Microbiology and Molecular Biology to support infectious-disease, genomics, and biosurveillance research at NMRC BDRD. These positions will provide hands-on laboratory support for sample processing, molecular and microbiological methods, sequencing workflows, and research documentation. Selected candidates will work with scientists, research associates, and bioinformatics personnel in a multidisciplinary Government laboratory environment. This position is part of our Federal Solutions team. The Federal Solutions segment delivers resources to our US government customers that ensure the success of missions around the globe. Our intelligent employees drive the state of the art as they provide services and solutions in the areas of defense, security, intelligence, infrastructure, and environmental. We promote a culture of excellence and close-knit teams that take pride in delivering, protecting, and sustaining our nation's most critical assets, from Earth to cyberspace. Throughout the company, our people are anticipating what’s next to deliver the solutions our customers need now.

Responsibilities

• Perform routine microbiology and molecular-biology procedures under approved protocols.
• Collect, receive, process, label, and track research samples.
• Support nucleic-acid extraction, PCR, library preparation, sequencing, and quality-control activities.
• Assist with clinical, environmental, wastewater, bacterial, viral, animal, vector, or bacteriophage samples as assigned.
• Prepare reagents, media, supplies, and laboratory materials.
• Operate and maintain laboratory equipment in accordance with SOPs.
• Record experimental procedures, observations, results, and deviations accurately.
• Maintain sample, reagent, supply, and equipment inventories.
• Support protocol optimization, validation studies, and troubleshooting.
• Assist with preparation of data summaries, reports, posters, presentations, and SOPs.
• Follow laboratory safety, quality, data-handling, and research-compliance requirements.
• Support domestic or international field and partner-laboratory activities when required.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in biology or a relevant biomedical-sciences field.
• At least two years of relevant microbiology experience.
• Practical laboratory skills and the ability to follow detailed research protocols.
• Ability to maintain accurate laboratory and sample records.
• Strong organizational, communication, teamwork, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work under deadlines in a research-laboratory environment.
• Ability to adjust work hours occasionally for time-sensitive experiments.
• Availability for domestic and international travel lasting up to two to four weeks.
• U.S. citizenship due to federal contract requirements.
• Ability to satisfy applicable background investigation, CAC, facility-access, and system-access requirements.

Skills

• Experience with molecular biology, PCR, nucleic-acid extraction, or NGS workflows.