Research Associate - MOAD Returnship

Your work will change lives. Including your own. 

We are leveraging new technology to create virtuous cycles of learning around datasets to build a next-generation biopharmaceutical company. It’s complex biology, decoded. 

Recursion is a digital biology company industrializing drug discovery. We are working to solve some of the hardest, most meaningful problems facing human health today. Come join us in our mission to decode biology to radically improve lives, while doing the most impactful work of your life.

Recursion’s Returnship Program

Our Returnship program is sponsored by the Women at Recursion Employee Resource Group. The program is aimed at helping those who have taken a hiatus (2+ years) from the STEM industry have the opportunity to return to the workforce in a learning environment with support from teams and mentors. This allows our company to tap into an underutilized pool of talent in Utah, and  leverage the experience and skills of previous work and life experiences, while also providing opportunity to learn and develop experience in new cutting-edge tools and technology. This sixteen-week program will enable you to have ownership of projects that can deeply impact the company’s mission to radically decode biology and serve patients, while having the guidance, support and mentorship has you re-enter the workforce. Each Returner will be assigned a mentor who will meet with them weekly, as well as weekly seminars on workplace culture, communication and technology.

Our returner program lasts 4 months, running from February 2026 through the end of May 2026, with potential for transition into full-time employment depending on performance and availability. This position is mainly based in our Salt Lake City, UT headquarters, with some hybrid working flexibility available.

MOAD Returnship

Are you a talented scientific professional looking to re-enter the workforce after a career break? The Multi-Omics Assay Development (MOAD) team is excited to announce our MOAD Research Associate Returnship. This unique opportunity is designed for individuals with a passion for cutting-edge biological research and a desire to contribute to groundbreaking scientific and innovative projects.

The MOAD team is a group of Scientists that work together to develop novel assays and onboard them to the HTS platform. This team interacts with many cross functional teams including a group of exceptional biologists, automation and software engineers, assay operations, machine learning scientists, computational biologists, and data scientists. We work rapidly and as a team on a project-by-project basis to prove or disprove the value and feasibility of new biological assays as Scientist and Project Managers. 

As a Research Associate, you will work under the direction of a Senior Scientist, collaborating closely with our MOAD team and crossfunctional teams. We are seeking an individual with excellent time management skills, a bias for action, strong troubleshooting abilities, and a minimal viable product mindset. A strong desire to learn new skills, techniques, and industry approaches is essential to thrive in our fast-paced environment.

Working alongside Recursion’s MOAD within the OS Hub. You will work on projects to: 

• Perform tissue culture activities: This includes media preparation, cell thawing, counting, lipofection, plating, and changing media, utilizing good sterile laboratory techniques.
• Execute drug treatment experiments on cells, leveraging lab automation tools.
• Conduct diverse experiments: Including but not limited to immunofluorescence, high-content imaging, and other relevant assays (e.g., -omics assays).
• Capture data via automated imaging runs and set up basic image analyses.
• Document project activities using an electronic laboratory notebook (ELN) and interact with a laboratory information system (LIMS) for reagent tracking, SOPs, and QC.
• Deliver robust data and establish baseline protocols to drive progress on complicated and exciting scientific projects.
• Learn about assay development, including experiment design and validation.

The Experience You’ll Need

• Must have 3 years of working experience in a research laboratory, preferably with mammalian cell culture.
• Bachelor’s Degree or higher in Biology, Biochemistry, Bioengineering, or a related major. Including understanding of molecular biology techniques. 
• Must have taken a 2+ year break from employment.
• A strong desire to learn with excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Attentive to detail and poss