Assistant/Associate/Full Project Scientist - Instrumentation Microscopy – Advanced Bioimaging Center – Department of Molecular and Cell Biology
The University of California, Berkeley
About this position
Position Overview
Position title: Project Scientist Salary range: The UC academic salary scales set the minimum pay determined by rank and step at appointment. See the following table for the current salary scale for this position: https://www.ucop.edu/academic-personnel-programs/_files/2025-26/represented-july-2025-scales/t37-b.pdf. A reasonable estimate for this position is $146,700 - $204,600. Percent time: 100% Anticipated start: Winter/Spring 2026 Position duration: Initial appointment is for one year with the possibility of renewal based on performance and funding availability.
Application Window
Open date: February 24, 2026 Next review date:Thursday, Apr 30, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time) Apply by this date to ensure full consideration by the committee. Final date: Thursday, Apr 30, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time) Applications will continue to be accepted until this date.
Position Description
The Advanced BioImaging Center (ABC) in the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of California, Berkeley seeks applications for two Project Scientist at the Assistant, Associate, or full rank. The selected candidate will be appointed at the rank to commensurate with prior experience. The position will report to Professor Gokul Upadhyayula, with Professor Eric Betzig serving as an additional academic mentor. The project scientist will make significant and creative contributions in the area of molecular and cellular microscopy research. The Advanced BioImaging Center (ABC) at UC Berkeley aspires to be a world-leading multidisciplinary imaging center that drives important biological discoveries through critical new advances in all aspects of imaging technology and that drives the dissemination of that technology through a multi-pronged education strategy to scientists around the world. ABC was intentionally designed to maximize scientific productivity and impact by adopting groundbreaking imaging technologies such as the next-generation adaptive optical multifunctional microscope, incorporating the high-level technical expertise of instrumentation scientists, applied mathematicians, and computational scientists, and building worldwide collaborations aimed at tackling the challenges posed by terabyte and petabyte-scale imaging data processing, visualization, and dissemination. Members of the ABC have access to leading - edge imaging and computing hardware, as well as exposure to collaborators from a range of diverse disciplines, including in the fields of Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Mathematics, and more. The purpose of this project is to develop a foundation AI model capable of extracting biological insights from 4D (x,y,z,time) datasets of subcellular dynamics within physiological contexts and across scales. Incumbent will advance imaging to generate petabytes of targeted and high quality datasets necessary to prototype and build this model. The Assistant/Associate/Full Project Scientists will help develop and execute the research program focused around ABC’s overarching goal of moving cell biology away from the coverslip and into physiological systems. These positions will work within a dedicated team to develop and refine the microscopy techniques. This position will manage projects and provide regular progress reports to PIs and collaborators. The incumbent will spend 90% of their time on ABC research goals and managing and maintaining equipment in the lab and 10% of their time training/supervising collaborators, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows on MOSAIC/iAOLLSM capabilities. Key responsibilities: •Make significant and creative contributions to designing, building, and testing of a new high throughput adaptive optical inverted lattice light-sheet microscope (iAO-LLSM). This instrument aims to achieve a 10-fold increase in data acquisition throughput while maintaining the high-quality optical performance demonstrated in our previous work. •Use, maintain, and oversee the operations of the two next-generation multimodal optical scopes with adaptive imaging correction (MOSAIC) microscopes at the ABC. •Actively participate in handling/mounting biological samples on advanced microscopes and collect 4/5D datasets. •Collaborate with a cross-disciplinary team of AI scientists, data engineers, instrumentation scientists and biologists and generate high resolution microscopy data using novel transparent developing organism reagents necessary to reach the goal of prototyping and training a 4D foundation model. •Actively participate in national and international collaborations, presentation of research findings at scientific conferences, and publication of results in leading peer-reviewed journals. •The incumbent will actively participate in and occasionally lead efforts to develop new projects. These positions are eligible for full benefits. Lab: https://abc.berkeley.edu/ Contract: https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/resources/employment-policies-contracts/bargaining-units/academic-researchers/contract/
Qualifications
Basic qualifications(required at time of application)•PhD (or equivalent international degree) Additional qualifications(required at time of start)•Minimum of four years of postdoctoral research experience •For consideration for the Associate Project Scientist rank: a minimum of 8 years of post PhD research experience •For consideration for the full Project Scientist rank: a minimum of 14 years of post PhD research experience Preferred qualifications•PhD or equivalent international degree in Physics, Chemical or Biological Engineering, Molecular and Cell Biology, Systems Biology, Biochemistry, or Related Field. •Experience or expertise in light microscopy, spectroscopy, or laser optics. •Experience or experience with adaptive optics and lattice light sheet microscopy. •Experience or experience designing and building custom microscopes. •Ability to troubleshoot microscopy instruments, prepare samples, design research methodology. •Proficient with CAD programs for instrument design (e.g. Autodesk Inventor or Solidworks). •Ability to explain concepts to a variety of audiences; and oversee a laboratory space or unit. •A strong preference for a record of imaging, characterization and analysis of live cells and biological tissues. •Experience with data and image processing, evaluating image quality, visualizing and analyzing image data. •Experience making figures and movies with microscopy data for publishing articles. •Experience collaborating with labs in a wide variety of areas. •Experience executing large imaging projects (tens of terabytes to multi petabyte-scale) •Experience leading technicians •Ability to review research proposals and ideas, evaluate research capabilities, and make recommendations. •Ability to effectively communicate, participate in efficient and open collaboration, and engage with a diverse group of researchers. •The ideal candidate will be innovative and able to synergize various ideas and approaches, while exercising sound judgment to evaluate and take acceptable risks.
Application Requirements
Document requirementsCurriculum Vitae - Your most recently updated C.V. Cover Letter Statement of Research - Provide a summary of your major research accomplishments in approximately 250 words. Additionally, please include a brief statement highlighting your experience that is directly relevant to the key responsibilities of this position. Reference requirements 3 required (contact information only) Apply link:https://aprecruit.berkeley.edu/JPF05253 Help contact:harrisonmd@berkeley.edu
Job Location
Berkeley, CA Apply now to Assistant/Associate/Full Project Scientist - Instrumentation Microscopy – Advanced Bioimaging Center – Department of Molecular and Cell Biology or Log in to your portfolio Need help? Contact the hiring department. The University of California, Berkeley is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. You have the right to an equal employment opportunity. The University of California, Berkeley is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. See our Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act Annual Security Reports Academic Personnel Recruit University of California, Berkeley Accessibility About California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) Opt-Out IconPrivacy Policy © 2007-2026 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.