UBC
Job Category
Non Union Technicians and Research Assistants
Job Profile
Non Union Salaried – Research Assistant /Technician 4
Job Title
Research Assistant/Technician 4
Department
Research | Todesco | Michael Smith Laboratories | Faculty of Science
Compensation Range
$4,558.75 – $5,354.67 CAD Monthly
Posting End Date
October 20, 2023
Job End Date
Note: Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the day prior to the Posting End Date above.
Oct 31, 2024
At UBC, we believe that attracting and sustaining a diverse workforce is key to the successful pursuit of excellence in research, innovation, and learning for all faculty, staff and students. Our commitment to employment equity helps achieve inclusion and fairness, brings rich diversity to UBC as a workplace, and creates the necessary conditions for a rewarding career.
Job Summary
The Research Technician will coordinate and contribute to research efforts on cannabis genetics and genomics projects. They will provide expertise in economic botany, genomics, bioinformatics, and population genetics to the ongoing research efforts in the laboratory. The individual will be joining a dedicated and highly motivated team of geneticists, molecular biologists, and evolutionary biologists. The work and environment are interdisciplinary, with the research focused on plant diversity and adaptation, comparative genomics and population genetics, domestication, and genomics-enabled crop improvement.
Organizational Status
The Research Technician will assist the Principal Investigator in all parts of their research program. They will interact closely with members of the research group including research associates, postdoctoral fellows, graduate and undergraduate students; UBC and department staff and administrators; academic and industry collaborators, cannabis growers and breeders.
Work Performed
- Designs, plans, and conducts population genetics analyses on large-scale genomics datasets, with a focus on understanding cannabis domestication history and biogeography
- Maintains and develops connections with collaborators in the cannabis research community, the cannabis industry, and with cannabis growers and breeders
- Manages and oversees efforts to generate , annotate, and curate high-quality genome assemblies.
- Develops and maintains second- and third generation sequencing datasets associated with different research projects
- Curates and maintains herbarium sample collections
- Develops novel bioinformatic pipelines and approaches to achieve research goals
- Analyzes experiment results and troubleshoots complex problems, especially those dealing with bioinformatics and population genomics experimental design
- Compiles data and writes reports, presents results, and participates in the preparation of scientific manuscripts and grant proposals
- Assists in training and onboarding of lab personnel
- Carries out any other related duties as required in keeping with the qualifications and requirements of positions in this classification
Consequence of Error/Judgement
The Research Technician exercises a considerable amount of judgement, responsibility, and initiative related to the functioning of the lab. Incompetence or incorrect decisions could jeopardize research progress, collaborations, and finances, and adversely impact future project objectives and personnel. Poor judgment would result in loss of experimental data and delay in conducting research. They will be responsible for errors in their work, for reporting problems and mistakes in a timely way, and for correcting those errors.
Supervision Received
Reports directly to the Principal Investigator to ensure priorities are addressed. Works under minimum supervision, receiving specific instructions only on unusual problems or on matters which depart significantly from established policy and procedure.
Supervision Given
The Research Technician will work as part of a team. They may have joint responsibility for supervising and training more junior personnel and graduate students.
Minimum Qualifications
- Completion of a university degree in a relevant discipline or technical program and a minimum four years of related experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience. Some positions may require a graduate degree.
- Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one’s own
- Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one’s own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion
Preferred Qualifications
Relevant MSc or a PhD in the field of plant genetics or genomics is strongly preferred. Bioinformatics graduates with botany experience, and Botany graduates with bioinformatics experience will be considered.
Skills and Experience
- Fluency in at least one interpreted programing language such as Python, Perl, or R
- Demonstrated experience working on large-scale genomics and population genetics datasets in High Performance Computing (HPC) environments, and knowledge of cannabis genetics, biology, and domestication history
- Familiarity with the national and international cannabis industry, research community, and legal history
- Experience working in a museum or herbarium, with knowledge of curatorial best practices and/or experience working with degraded tissue and ancient DNA data are assets.
- Ability to maintain a high level of accuracy and attention to detail
- Ability to work with the Principal Investigator to plan and implement experiments and to analyze data
- Demonstrate initiative in determining work priorities and meet deadlines
- Effective oral and written communication, demonstrated by a track record of conference presentations and published manuscripts
- Effective interpersonal, analytical, supervisory, multi-tasking, and organizational skills
- Ability to work independently, while also collaborating with team members
- Demonstrate flexibility and responsiveness to changing needs
- Ability to develop and maintain cooperative and productive working relationships
- Self-motivated person, fast learner, team player, and creative problem solver
