Junior Scientific Technician

 SAIC is recruiting for a Junior Scientific Technician for one of our programs supporting the FDA. SAIC supports the FDA and their scientists in Scientific Computing which includes but is not limited to; technical, laboratory, and research aspects. Independent, motivated individuals with strong communication and organizational skills for documenting processes, procedures, and briefing reports are desired. Familiarity with laboratory research, computational biology, data analysis, or bioinformatics is a plus. Position requires either an active FDA Public Trust clearance or the ability to obtain prior to start.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities include, but not limited to:

• Perform DNA extraction and quality control from diverse food products
• Prepare genomic libraries and apply target enrichment protocols for next-generation sequencing (NGS)
• Conduct PCR amplification of DNA from spiked food samples or food products
• Present findings at group meetings and prepare materials for potential conference abstracts/posters
• Work directly alongside a senior engineer to develop CLI applications, data visualization pipelines (matplotlib/seaborn), HPC-integrated workflows (SLURM), and scientific reporting systems, shipping real code that runs on food safety genomics data
• Assist in building and testing production Python tools for microbiome analysis, bacterial phylogenetics, and metagenomic interpretation
• Review and reform customer facing ServiceNow forms by modifying fields and content to capture the request by the customer as well as capture the information required by the receiving team(s)
• Implement continuous improvement methodology through the use of IT systems or procedure
• Additional responsibilities will include: End user documentation, scientific instrument inventory, and additional duties as assigned

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent
• Eight (8) years of relevant experience
• Must be able to obtain a Public Trust

Familiar with the following:

• VMware
• Windows Server 2008, 2012, 2016
• Windows Server Update Services (WSUS)
• Microsoft SQL Server
• Windows 7 and Windows 10
• Linux
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• Host Based Security System (HBSS)
• Dell servers
• Dell Blade Enclosures
• Enterprise Network storage and NAS
• Citrix
• Nutanix
• QNAP
• Microsoft Active Directory
• HPE Servers
• HPE Blade enclosures