Director of Laboratory Operations – Single-molecule Imaging Center

Leads the overall direction of the laboratory or departmental core facility. Develops, evaluates, and conducts studies that support the goals and objectives of the institution. Develops laboratory operating procedures. Manages budget planning process. Provides direction and supervision to laboratory staff. Contributes to the scientific direction of the laboratory in partnership with Principal Investigator. Expected to maintain extensive knowledge and expertise in respective discipline.

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Summary

The Department of Structural Biology at St Jude Children’s Research Hospital is seeking to hire a Director of the Single-Molecule imaging Center (SMC) to lead a team, comprised of a principle scientific computing engineer, staff scientific computing engineer and scientific computing engineer, whose backgrounds span from computer science and mathematics to mechanical and electrical engineering. The ideal candidate has extensive experience developing and utilizing single-molecule fluorescence microscopy methods to reveal new insights in biology and/or medicine and sufficient technical background to design and implement hardware and software solutions that facilitate instrument stability, experimental throughput and Center accessibility as well as teach and disseminate knowledge to non-experts.

The mission of the SMC at St. Jude is to push the frontiers of single-molecule methods development across multiple modalities, while maintaining a focus on making these technologies accessible to a broad user base of biology-focused scientists within the department of Structural Biology, and across the Institution and its affiliates.

The SMC is integrated into a community of Institutionally-funded laboratories and innovation centers at St. Jude, each with their own dedicated staff, including the Cryo-EM Center, the Protein Technology Center, the Cell and Tissue Imaging Center, The Center for Bioimage Informatics, The Center for Applied Bioinformatics, the Center of Excellence for Data-driven Discovery and the Center for Advanced Genome Engineering (CAGE).

The SMC has been founded on advanced confocal and TIRFM single-molecule fluorescence as well as live-cell imaging microscopes with a mission to utilize these technologies for high-impact projects that advance the understanding and treatment of catastrophic childhood diseases, including infectious diseases and cancers. Integrated acquisition and image analysis software is in place. The SMC currently consists of three custom built, sCMOS-based wide-field TIRF microscopes equipped with stopped-flow instrumentation, a modified and elaborated MicroTime200 confocal time-correlated single-photon counting (TCSPC) instrument with 7 laser lines and 4 SPADs together with an ensemble FluoTime300 instrument from PicoQuant, and hybrid live-cell imaging instrumentation. Space and financial support for other types of single-molecule technologies (including optical traps and atomic force microscopes) are available. The SMC is integrated with an on-site machine shop for creating custom-engineered microscope hardware, high-performance computing resources for software development and data management, as well as technology infrastructures for surface chemistry and microfluidics.

Technologies within the SMC have enabled discoveries in a wide variety of targetable biological systems, including the cystic fibrosis transmembrane receptor (CFTR), β-arrestins, G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs), transporters, riboswitches, periplasmic amino acid binding proteins, bacterial/human ribosomes, whole viral particles, and more. In collaborations with the Blanchard laboratory at St. Jude, the SMC also has access to the latest generation of “self-healing” fluorophore technologies and non-natural amino acid incorporation technologies that are both fundamental to advancing the single-molecule imaging field.

The successful candidate will continue this history of success by guiding collaborators to achieve single molecule resolution to a wide variety of clinically important biological systems.

Responsibilities:

• Direct Center activity on a day-to-day basis to ensure staff are efficiently tasked, instruments are properly functioning and correctly utilized, and data is appropriately managed.
• Lead the planning and implementation of next generation instruments and imaging strategies to ensure the Center stays at the technological frontier.
• Oversee and contribute to the development of software tools for instrument control, data analysis, and project management, pursuing continued technical advances while ensuring seamless operations.
• Lead high-impact collaborations with laboratories at St Jude to leverage single-molecule imaging for diverse biological systems with scientists who may not have previous experience with fluorescence microscopy.
• Lead internal projects that advance the state of the art in single-molecule fluorescence imaging, including surface chemistry, fluorophores, new optical systems, microfluidics, camera technology, software, and algorithms.
• Establish policies and procedures for users and staff to maximize the productivity of Center resources and keep the instruments performing optimally.
• Serve as manager for SMC staff members with diverse technical backgrounds.
• Participate and contribute to seminars and conferences in order to present research findings, keep up to date on scientific research and emerging imaging technologies, disseminate knowledge about single-molecule methods and quantitation and to recruit talent to the SMC and St. Jude.

Ideal Candidate:

• Ph.D. in physical sciences (physics, biology, computer science, etc.) with 10 years post-graduate experience.
• Strong publication record demonstrating the power of single-molecule imaging to solve important questions in biology and/or medicine.
• Experience building custom single-molecule fluorescence microscopes.
• Software engineering experience with MATLAB, Python, LabVIEW, and C++.

Minimum Education and/or Training:

• Bachelor’s degree is required

Minimum Experience:

• Ten (10) years of relevant post-degree work experience is required
• Eight (8) years of relevant post-degree work experience is required with a Master’s degree
• Six (6) years of relevant post-degree work experience is required with a PHD
• Management experience is required

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Compensation

In recognition of certain U.S. state and municipal pay transparency laws, St. Jude is including a reasonable estimate of the compensation range for this role. This is an estimate offered in good faith and a specific salary offer takes into account factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets, experience and training, licensure and certifications, and other business and organizational needs. It is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the salary range and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current salary range is $114,400 – $216,320 per year for the role of Director of Laboratory Operations – Single-molecule Imaging Center.

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St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital has a diverse, global patient population and workforce, built on the principles of diversity, equity and inclusion. Our founder Danny Thomas envisioned a hospital that would treat children of the world—regardless of race, religion or a family’s ability to pay. Learn more about our history and commitment.

Today, we continue the mission to advance cures and means of prevention for pediatric catastrophic diseases through research and treatment. As we accelerate this progress globally, we believe our legacy of diversity, equity and inclusion is foundational to success. With the commitment of leaders at all levels of the organization, we strive to ensure the St. Jude culture, leadership approaches and talent processes are equitable and culturally responsive. View our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Report to learn about the hospital’s roots in diversity, equity and inclusion, where we are today and our aspirations for an even better future.

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