Applications Engineer – 3D Cell Culture Systems

The Opportunity

VivoTex is seeking a hands-on Applications Scientist who can independently design and execute high-quality cell-culture studies while helping shape the scientific direction of an early-stage company. This person will connect in-vitro biological experiments, product development, and commercialization: translating unmet workflow needs into rigorous experiments, defensible data, product insights, and practical guidance for customers.

The role is expected to begin with approximately 70% hands-on laboratory work. As VivoTex and the applications function mature, the position may evolve over the first 6-24 months toward a more balanced combination of bench science and scientific leadership, applications strategy, customer engagement, and cross-functional collaboration.

Key Responsibilities

Applications and Experimental Science

• Independently design, execute, analyze, troubleshoot, and document cell-culture and tissue-engineering studies that address defined scientific and commercial questions.
• Maintain mammalian cell cultures and conduct experiments using conventional and 3D culture systems, including work with biomaterials, hydrogels, spheroids, organoids, or related model systems as appropriate.
• Establish suitable controls, select meaningful endpoints, apply appropriate quantitative analysis, and communicate the limits and implications of experimental findings.
• Generate reproducible application data, benchmark VivoTex products against relevant methods or products, and convert results into protocols, application notes, white papers, presentations, and internal recommendations.

Product Development and Applications Strategy

• Contribute scientific judgment to product-development and applications-science priorities, including the identification of promising biological use cases and validation studies.
• Translate customer and market needs into experimental requirements, product feedback, and evidence-generation plans in collaboration with manufacturing, marketing, business development, and technical sales.
• Support R&D initiatives for new products and improvements to existing products, with increasing ownership as the company grows.
• Monitor scientific, technical, and competitive developments relevant to 3D in vitro models and VivoTex solutions.

Customer and Commercial Support

• Provide credible scientific support during selected customer discussions, collaborations, demonstrations, training sessions, and troubleshooting activities.
• Collaborate with marketing and commercial colleagues to develop technically accurate educational and promotional materials without compromising scientific rigor.
• Represent VivoTex at approximately 1-4 conferences or industry events per year and communicate the value and appropriate use of VivoTex technologies.

Laboratory and Team Operations

• Help build and organize the applications laboratory, including protocols, documentation practices, equipment capabilities, inventory, and workflows that support business needs.
• Maintain safe and compliant BSL-2 laboratory practices and contribute to clear, reproducible standard operating procedures.
• Provide day-to-day scientific guidance to laboratory technicians and supervise assigned work as the team expands.
• Manage multiple experiments and shifting priorities while maintaining organized records, data integrity, and clear communication of progress and risks.

Required Qualifications

• MS or PhD in biology, cell biology, molecular biology, bioengineering, biomedical engineering, biochemistry, tissue engineering, or a related discipline.
• Demonstrated ability to independently plan, conduct, troubleshoot, analyze, and document wet-lab experiments.
• Strong hands-on experience with mammalian cell culture, aseptic technique, biosafety cabinets, media preparation and exchange, passaging, cryopreservation, and common culture vessels such as flasks and multiwell plates.
• Experience evaluating biological responses using microscopy, image analysis, and/or biochemical assays such as metabolic, viability, immunostaining, ELISA, or related methods.
• Ability to interpret data critically, distinguish supported conclusions from preliminary findings, and communicate results clearly to scientific and cross-functional audiences.
• Strong organization, scientific writing, and project-management skills, with the ability to advance multiple studies in a dynamic startup environment.

Highly Desirable Experience

• Professional experience in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, life-science tools, contract research, or another product-oriented industry environment.
• Experience with 3D cell culture, spheroids, organoids, hydrogels, biomaterials, tissue engineering, or cell-material interactions.
• Experience developing application data, product-validation studies, customer protocols, technical content, or scientific demonstrations.
• Experience with advanced microscopy or characterization methods, such as confocal microscopy, live-cell imaging, histology, scanning electron microscopy, or quantitative image analysis.
• Prior customer-facing, cross-functional, mentoring, or laboratory-operations experience.
• Comfort working with ambiguity, building new capabilities, and exercising sound scientific judgment with limited precedent.

What Success Looks Like

Success means producing reliable biological data, strengthening VivoTex's experimental capabilities, and informing better product and application decisions while remaining closely connected to the bench.