Jobs at Astera

Oversee the full lifecycle of research data, including quality, governance, metadata, publication, archival, and FAIR compliance. Partner with multidisciplinary researchers, develop documentation and scalable data infrastructure, support knowledge graph and AI/ML integration, and provide training. The role also requires navigating responsible data-sharing decisions involving privacy, safety, sensitivity, and dual-use risks while collaborating with software engineers and leadership.

Support the Head of Open Science by managing initiatives, workflows, documentation, policy implementation, external proposal intake, stakeholder relationships, events, hiring support, and team onboarding. The role coordinates internal and external stakeholders, screens open science opportunities, prepares leadership materials, tracks decisions, and improves operational processes. It requires strong project management, communication, discretion, and familiarity with open science ecosystems.

Design control-system requirements and architecture for a DNA-origami electrostatic actuator-sensor system. Define sensor and actuator constraints, review FET and drive-stack designs, specify experimental data capture for system identification and machine learning, and develop a closed-loop control, simulation, and estimation plan. Provide a documented handoff to the incoming Controls engineer while advising physics and wet-lab teams on a fractional contract basis.

Software Engineering Intern contributing to large-scale distributed simulation infrastructure. Responsibilities include developing networking and orchestration systems, supporting biological and 3D physics simulations, improving throughput and reliability, debugging performance bottlenecks, and building visualization and developer tools. The intern will collaborate with researchers and engineers on systems programming, distributed computing, and scientific infrastructure projects.

Edits scientific publications and research outputs, drafts blog posts, and advises researchers on publication strategy and open-science releases. Directs interactive figures, visualizations, executable models, and presentation materials. Supports documentation of computational methods, algorithms, datasets, and open-source releases while training researchers in scholarly communication. The role works across life science programs and audiences, partnering with scientists, designers, developers, and data stewards.

Design and execute high-throughput molecular biology and microbial engineering experiments, develop and optimize DNA assembly, library construction, and screening workflows, analyze experimental data, and collaborate with computational researchers to create datasets for AI model training. The role also owns research projects, establishes laboratory infrastructure and quality systems, maintains equipment and reagents, troubleshoots experiments, documents methods, and contributes to open science initiatives.

Lead and co-direct an AI research program to develop post-training RL methods that align large biological models to high-throughput experimental measurements. Design and run model training, debugging, and evaluation; architect training infrastructure; collaborate closely with experimental teams; publish methods and datasets; potentially grow into a leadership/co-founder role.

Lead research to develop post-training reinforcement learning methods that convert high-throughput biological measurements into rewards for generative biological language models. Architect and run large-scale model training, work closely with experimental teams to align measurements and modeling, and iterate rapidly to publish new methods and models.

Manage end-to-end candidate experience and scheduling, communicate with candidates and interviewers, maintain ATS records (Ashby), track pipeline health, support targeted sourcing and residency recruiting cycles, and assist with operational tasks across People & Operations to ensure a high-quality, repeatable hiring process.

Design and build precision experimental hardware end-to-end, spanning mechanical design, fabrication, electronics, and optics. Lead technical direction, run and equip the prototyping facility, mentor and hire engineers, and collaborate closely with scientists to iterate toward reliable instruments.

Lead design and implementation of low-latency, multi-modal neuroscience research systems: instrument control, data acquisition, high-throughput pipelines, experiment UIs, and cloud infrastructure. Define technical roadmap, mentor engineers, and ensure production reliability and performance for large-scale neural data workflows.

Build and maintain The Stacks web platform: back-end services, front-end interfaces, data models, APIs, cloud infrastructure, CI/CD, testing, and open-source components. Collaborate across teams, iterate rapidly, support post-launch improvements, and ensure availability and observability.

Design and validate an electrostatic drive and field-effect position sensor for a nanoscale DNA-origami actuator; define device stack and direct cleanroom fabrication; perform electrical and force/displacement characterization (including AFM); ensure low-noise measurement toolchain and collaborate with molecular-design and controls teams for closed-loop operation.

Lead a program to create a high-resolution, whole‑brain primate anatomical and functional atlas integrating imaging, electrophysiology, connectivity, and computational models; coordinate internal teams and external partners; release openly accessible atlas and tools; and develop anatomically grounded computational models with NeuroAI collaborators.

Design and build flexible high-density neural probes, insertion needles, and precision insertion robots. Develop probe-to-chip integration, low-noise readout, microfabrication processes, insertion mechanics, machine-vision guidance, and electrode characterization to transition prototypes into reliable, manufacturable neuroscience instruments.

Design and build custom precision optical systems (large field-of-view, high-speed two-photon imaging and photostimulation), develop a miniature two-photon microscope for freely moving animals, and build electronics, control hardware, and software to integrate optics with data acquisition. Own instruments end-to-end and iterate designs with scientists and collaborators.

Develop and optimize a volumetric functional ultrasound imaging platform for awake, behaving primates; design and run multimodal experiments; build computational pipelines for reconstruction, preprocessing, registration, QC, analysis, and visualization; analyze large-scale datasets with statistical and ML methods; create cross-session/animal brain atlases; integrate fUSI with electrophysiology and other modalities; collaborate with engineers and mentor staff; publish open datasets and tools.

Lead large-scale human intracranial studies: design cognitive paradigms, collect and preprocess sEEG/ECoG/microelectrode data, analyze single-neuron and population activity, coordinate multisite clinical partnerships, own IRB/regulatory/data-sharing, and publish and release curated open-science datasets and tools.

Lead computational research integrating theory, large-scale neural data, and ML to model neural representations and dynamics, design testable experiments, build NeuroAI architectures, and validate model-guided closed-loop stimulation across species.

Lead and execute large-scale systems neuroscience research: design behavioral paradigms, collect multi-area neural recordings and causal perturbations, stitch datasets across sessions/animals, collaborate with engineering and computational teams, mentor staff, and publish/openly share tools and data.