Technician in Primary T-Cell Engineering

Join an Innovative Research Team

The Khammash Lab at ETH Zurich is seeking a motivated and skilled technician to collaborate within an interdisciplinary team focused on synthetic biology, control engineering, and immunoengineering.

Project Background

This position is part of a funded ERC Advanced Grant aimed at developing genetically engineered feedback control circuits in human T cells to address challenging diseases. The successful candidate will work closely with engineers and biologists to design, clone, and test synthetic circuits in primary human T cells, contributing to the advancement of cellular therapies.

Job Responsibilities

• Engineering, transducing, and characterizing primary T cells with synthetic genetic circuits.
• Optimizing and executing protocols for retroviral or lentiviral transduction, cell culture, and immune functional assays.
• Supporting the development of in vivo models, such as adoptive T-cell transfer in mice, for relevant preclinical testing.
• Collaborating closely with molecular biologists, computational modelers, and clinical researchers.
• Documenting results clearly and contributing to publications and presentations.
• Providing technical support and troubleshooting in T cell culture, molecular cloning, and viral production workflows.

Profile

• MSc/BSc in biological sciences or a related area with extensive hands-on experience.
• Strong practical background in primary T-cell isolation, culture, transduction (retroviral/lentiviral), and flow cytometry.
• Hands-on experience with viral vector production (e.g., lentivirus, retrovirus) and/or non-viral gene delivery tools such as PiggyBac or Sleeping Beauty is highly desirable.
• Experience with murine models, especially adoptive cell therapy, is an asset.
• Experience with engineering allogeneic T cell products is a strong plus.
• Excellent laboratory and organizational skills; ability to work independently and collaboratively.
• Good communication skills in English.

The ideal candidate will also possess social and leadership competencies to foster a positive work culture, including responsibility, nurturing well-being, driving innovation, promoting inclusivity, and enabling teamwork.

Work Environment

The successful candidate will join a stimulating, supportive, and international research environment at ETH Zurich. The role offers the opportunity to contribute to cutting-edge research at the interface of control engineering, synthetic biology, and medicine, alongside access to state-of-the-art facilities and collaboration with world-class researchers.

Commitment to Diversity

ETH Zurich promotes an inclusive culture, encouraging equality of opportunity and valuing diversity. We nurture a working and learning environment that respects the rights and dignity of all staff and students.

Curiosity and Innovation

Join us in our pursuit of solutions for global challenges. Explore an exciting opportunity to contribute to groundbreaking research and development.