Breakout Ventures · 2 hours ago
Scientific Operations - Associate / Scientist (Contract)
Cambridge, MA
Contract
Onsite
Entry, Mid Level
$30/hr - $45/hr
2+ years expBreakout Ventures is focused on building a future powered by science, and they are seeking a Scientific Operations Associate/Scientist to support lab operations. The role involves maintaining lab organization, assisting with experiments, and ensuring compliance while working in a fast-paced startup environment.
Advanced MaterialsEnergyFinancial ServicesLife ScienceVenture Capital
Responsibilities
Keep labs organized, stocked, and ready for daily experimentation
Assist with lab setup and teardown for protocols and workflows
Draft and maintain SOPs, protocols, QA/QC, and operational documentation
Coordinate staff scheduling, shared equipment booking, and lab logistics
Support EHS requirements, audits, and compliance reporting
Maintain chemical and biological inventories, wastestreams, and documentation
Help onboard and train visiting operators
Order reagents, consumables, and equipment; track deliveries and usage
Maintain accurate inventory to avoid downtime
Support equipment set-up, maintenance, calibration, and vendor coordination
Assist with scaling, stress testing, and troubleshooting protocols
Support benchmarks to validate reproducibility and scalability across lab settings
Generate high-quality, structured experimental data for deviations, and edge cases
Document critical experimental variables for robust handoffs to humans and robots
Capture of tacit biological knowledge, from intent to execution
Be customer obsessed: initiate, support, and lead initiatives to deliver results to clients
Qualification
Required
Work onsite daily in Cambridge, MA
Bachelor's or higher degree in a scientific or technical field
2–5 years of demonstrated hands-on lab experience with modern wet lab techniques
A strong desire to improve scientific workflows
Experimental design skills with a strong bias toward documentation, reproducibility, and iteration
Ability to troubleshoot protocols systematically, with attention to technical and human variability
Familiarity with digital lab tools (e.g., ELNs, LIMS, lab automation systems)
Strong organizational skills and attention to detail
Clear communicator and collaborative teammate
Comfortable working in fast-paced, hands-on lab environments
Preferred
Startup or early-stage experience preferred; comfort with ambiguity and rapid iteration is a must
Experience with assay design, development, and optimization
Coding experience for complex data analysis and statistics (python, R)
Hands on experience troubleshooting next generation sequencing assays
Demonstrated experience using AI/ML tools in research, whether for experimental design, data analysis, or predictive modeling
Experience working with or supporting internal lab teams as well as direct customer-facing work in partner or external lab environments
Company
Breakout Ventures
Breakout Ventures is an early stage fund that backs bold scientist entrepreneurs.
2-10 employees
Funding
Current Stage
Early StageTotal Funding
unknown2018-01-01Seed
Leadership Team
Dana Watt
Partner
Julia Moore
Managing Partner
Recent News
2025-04-16
2025-04-16
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