Research Technician

The School of Engineering

Stanford Engineering has been at the forefront of innovation for nearly a century, creating pivotal technologies that have transformed the worlds of information technology, communications, health care, energy, business and beyond. Our faculty and students are creative risk-takers who pursue excellence across a breadth of disciplines. Our alumni include some of the world's most successful leaders in technology and business. Our staff are critical to enabling Stanford Engineering to accomplish its mission: seeking solutions to some of the world's most urgent challenges and educating leaders who will make the world a better place through the power of engineering principles, techniques and systems.

The Chemical Engineering Department was founded in 1961, and it was initially an outgrowth of the university’s Department of Chemistry. Early faculty pioneered or substantially influenced the emerging field of chemical engineering in many vital areas, including catalysis and transport/fluid mechanics. More recently, the department has added bioengineering and soft-material science to its core areas of excellence and has made a growing commitment to technology development that complements its long-held strength in fundamental applied science and molecular engineering. (Chemical Engineering website: https://cheme.stanford.edu/ )

Dr. Monther Abu-Remaileh's lab in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Division of Chemistry, Engineering & Medicine for Human Health (ChEM-H) at Stanford University (https://www.abu-remaileh.com/) seeks a motivated Research Technician. This position is crucial for conducting analytical work using mass spectrometry to support various lab operations and research initiatives.

The Abu-Remaileh lab explores cellular and organismal adaptation to metabolic stress, investigating how these pathways dysregulate in cancer, neurodegeneration, and metabolic syndrome. With a strong emphasis on lysosomal biology and disease, our ultimate goal is to engineer novel therapeutic modalities. To drive this research, our team continuously utilizes and develops advanced mass spectrometry techniques to meticulously analyze the lipidome and metabolome, paving the way for groundbreaking discoveries and patient-tailored therapies.

We are seeking an enthusiastic Research Technician to serve as the central hub for our lipidomics and metabolomics mass spectrometry platform. The successful candidate will independently design and execute complex LC-MS/MS workflows on state-of-the-art Orbitrap and triple quadrupole platforms. Responsibilities include rigorous sample preparation, instrument calibration, stringent quality control, and advanced data processing using specialized software to ensure quantitative rigor and reproducibility. You will work with lab members with experimental design and sample preparation, ensuring high-quality, reproducible data. And collaborate closely with the PI and senior lab members to integrate new technologies and improve overall analytical performance, thereby enhancing the lab’s capacity for impactful research.

A critical component of this role is analytical method development. The Technician will build, optimize, and validate robust LC-MS/MS acquisition methods—encompassing both targeted (MRM/PRM) and untargeted workflows—while enhancing our quantitative lipidomics pipelines. You will take full ownership of the MS platform's daily operations by monitoring instrument performance metrics, troubleshooting technical issues, coordinating routine maintenance with service providers, and managing project timelines and sample queues for the entire lab.

As the resident MS expert, you will author and maintain detailed standard operating procedures (SOPs) and actively mentor lab members on mass spectrometry best practices and experimental design. The role also involves managing the inventory of MS-specific reagents and consumables, ensuring safety compliance, and staying current with the latest analytical literature. This position offers an outstanding opportunity to engage deeply in collaborative science, with the expectation of contributing to publications by preparing figures, writing method sections, and presenting data. Comprehensive training will be provided to ensure the new hire achieves absolute proficiency in our current workflows.

Overall, this Research Technician position presents an outstanding opportunity for someone eager to engage deeply in collaborative research.

In this role, you will

• Independently conduct a portion of the research project(s). Make recommendations on experimental design and/or research direction to principal investigator.
• Independently conduct complex (lab and/or field) experiments to gather data for a portion of a major research project.
• Interpret and analyze results, often where few guidelines exist, and make modifications to existing procedures and protocols.
• Develop new research protocols where appropriate protocols are not described in the literature or where modification or adaptation of standard procedures and protocols is required.
• Perform ongoing literature review to remain current with new procedures and related research; apply to ongoing research and development of new protocols.
• Contribute substantively to the preparation of papers for publication, especially in the results section, and to publication of findings. Present ongoing work to colleagues and/or academic conferences.
• Oversee supply and equipment budget under supervision of principal investigator or business manager.
• Work with health and safety department to ensure lab complies with regulations and all required trainings.
• Supervise (either formally or informally) staff or students as needed, including oversight and direction on techniques, as well as consultation on project work. Serve as a technical resource for other research staff.
• Oversee the daily activities of the laboratory including lab maintenance; maintain lab stock, manage chemical inventory and safety records, and provide general lab support as needed. May assist with purchasing laboratory equipment.

Education & Experience (Required)

• Bachelor's degree in related scientific field and two years of relevant work experience; or Master’s degree in a related scientific field.

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities (Required)

• Comprehensive understanding of scientific principles.
• General computer skills and ability to quickly learn and master computer programs, databases, and scientific applications.
• Strong analytical skills and excellent judgment.
• Ability to maintain detailed records of experiments and outcomes.
• Ability to work under deadlines with general guidance is essential.
• Excellent organizational skills and demonstrated ability to accurately complete detailed work.

Education & Experience (Desired)

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Chemistry, Biochemistry, Chemical Biology, or Analytical Chemistry
• Minimum of 2–3 years of hands-on experience operating LC-MS/MS systems (e.g., Orbitrap and/or triple quadrupole platforms) in a research environment.
• Demonstrated experience in lipidomics and/or metabolomics sample preparation and quantitative workflows.
• Experience developing, optimizing, and troubleshooting LC-MS/MS acquisition methods (e.g., targeted MRM/PRM and/or untargeted approaches).
• Experience with mass spectrometry data processing and quantitative analysis software.