Research Technician - Gonzalez Lab

Primary Work Address: 1550 4th Street, Suite 190, San Francisco, CA, 94158-0724

Current HHMI Employees, click here to apply via your Workday account.

The Gonzalez Lab at UCSF is seeking a Research Technician to join a multidisciplinary neuroscience team studying how the brain controls communication, social behavior, and sleep. The lab combines animal behavior, high-density electrophysiology, optical imaging, closed-loop stimulation, machine learning, and custom instrument development to understand neural circuit dynamics in birds and humans. Current and upcoming projects include studies of birdsong fillers and vocal repair, neural decoding during sleep, and later-stage work in human EEG and natural speech. The broader goal is to understand how brains generate speech-like sequences, how these sequences are altered during social interaction, and how the sleeping brain reactivates or transforms behaviorally meaningful experiences. For more information, visit www.gonzalez-lab.com .

About the role:

This is a hands-on research position for someone who is motivated by both engineering and biology. The Research Technician will help run experiments, care for and handle birds, build and maintain experimental systems, collect and organize behavioral and neural data, and contribute to analysis workflows. The role is well suited for an applicant who enjoys troubleshooting real systems [cameras, microphones, neural recording hardware, behavioral rigs, electronics, 3D-printed parts, and analysis code] and who wants direct exposure to modern systems neuroscience rather than a narrowly defined coding or bench-only position.

The technician will work across multiple projects. Early responsibilities will focus on birdsong and sleep experiments, including behavioral recording, audio/video acquisition, electrophysiology support, and development of analysis pipelines. Over time, the role may also include support for human EEG studies of natural speech. The position requires reliability, careful documentation, respect for animal welfare and research compliance, and the ability to learn new tools quickly.

What we provide:

•A creative neuroscience lab studying vocal communication, sleep, social behavior, and neural dynamics.

•Direct training in animal behavior, experimental design, neural recording, stimulation, imaging, data analysis, and research operations.

•Opportunities to build custom tools using 3D printing, CNC machining, electronics, microcontrollers, audio/video synchronization, and computer-controlled behavioral systems.

•State-of-the-art resources, including high-density electrophysiology, advanced optical imaging, confocal and light sheet microscopy, and high-capacity computational analysis.

•A lab culture that values initiative, technical rigor, careful record keeping, collaboration, and responsible use of modern software tools.

•A highly interdisciplinary research environment at UCSF, with connections to neuroscience, engineering, computation, behavior, and clinical questions related to speech and movement.

•A Bay Area location with competitive salary and access to San Francisco, the coast, and Silicon Valley.

What you’ll do:

•Assist with zebra finch behavioral experiments, including animal handling, daily monitoring, husbandry support, and coordination with approved animal-care protocols.

•Operate and maintain experimental systems for audio, video, neural recording, stimulation, and behavioral monitoring during singing, social interaction, and sleep.

•Build, modify, and troubleshoot laboratory instruments using 3D printing, CNC machining, electronic prototyping, microcontrollers, sensors, cameras, microphones, and custom software.

•Collect, verify, organize, and document behavioral, audio, video, electrophysiology, imaging, and experimental metadata with attention to reproducibility and data integrity.

•Use software tools such as Python, MATLAB, ImageJ/FIJI, Arduino or related microcontroller environments, and AI-assisted coding workflows to process data and improve lab pipelines.

•Help develop and test analyses for birdsong, motif structure, sleep-state decoding, closed-loop experiments, and eventually human EEG/natural speech datasets.

•Prepare figures, summaries, quality-control reports, and basic analyses for lab meetings, manuscripts, grant materials, and project planning.

•Maintain inventories, organize shared lab spaces, track equipment status, support routine maintenance, and help ensure safe and compliant laboratory operations.

•Participate in laboratory meetings, planning sessions, and literature discussions