Research Associate, Rodent Surgery & Behavior

Company Overview Astera Neuro is a philanthropically funded research organization within the Astera Institute, working to decipher and ultimately write the neural codes underlying perception, thought, behavior, and internal state. The tools this requires do not yet exist. We are assembling a founding team of experimental neuroscientists, computational scientists, and engineers to build them, from recording and interface hardware to software and computational methods, and to use them to study neural activity at unprecedented scale, with direct promise for treating neurological and psychiatric disease. We pursue high-risk, high-reward science in a collaborative, well-resourced environment and share our tools, data, and discoveries openly under Astera's Open Science Policy. Position Summary We are hiring a Research Associate to join Astera Neuro's rodent neuroscience team. Your initial assignment is to perform the surgical preparations and behavior training that ready animals for an all-optical program reading, writing, and perturbing working memory in the mouse cortex. Aseptic survival surgery, centered on chronic cranial-window and headbar implantation, is the core of the job from day one. The ideal candidate is meticulous and highly skilled, with experience performing cranial-window surgeries, and equally comfortable running behavior-training sessions and keeping the colony and the rigs in order. A clear, long-lived imaging preparation is what makes these experiments possible, so preparation quality sets the ceiling on what the team can attempt. All animal work is performed under IACUC-approved protocols to AAALAC standards, with animal welfare treated as inseparable from scientific quality. What You Will Do - Perform mouse survival surgeries under aseptic technique and IACUC-approved protocols: stereotaxic AAV viral-vector delivery, chronic cranial-window implantation, and headbar installation. - Run head-fixed behavior training on the sequence working-memory task, including daily training, data collection, and rig upkeep. - Build and maintain behavior rigs, including Bonsai and Harp control and lickport hardware. - Run the mouse colony and coordinate animal sourcing, health, and readiness with the vivarium and veterinary staff. - Keep careful, shared records of surgeries, training histories, and preparation quality so that others can build on the work and the program stays compliant. - Work closely with the scientists running the all-optical experiments to keep preparation, imaging, and perturbation tightly coupled. Who You Are Required: - Current, hands-on experience performing mouse survival surgery, including chronic cranial-window implantation, headbar installation, and stereotaxic viral injections. This is the requirement that matters most: these are hard skills to learn, and we need them on day one. - A track record of consistently healthy, long-lived surgical preparations. - Meticulous, skilled hands and the ability to sustain high-quality work at volume. - Willingness to be held to an engineering standard. Our decisive tests are write-in experiments: constructing a specific percept, thought, or internal state, not merely decoding one. In this role that standard lands on the preparation, and we treat preparation quality as a scientific result rather than support work. What we cannot build, we do not understand. - Comfort building on shared infrastructure rather than private projects. Rigs, surgical preparations, and records are standardized so that they can be shared, and datasets are designed to stitch across sessions and animals. This means building things others can use, and using theirs. - Care for the animals. Healthy, well-handled, calm mice are the foundation of both the science and its credibility. We hold ourselves to that standard independent of what regulation requires. - Commitment to open science. We will release tools, data, and methods, and we aim to create a new dynamic of rapid, open exchange in neuroscience. Preferred/Nice to Have: - Head-fixed behavior-training experience, ideally with working-memory or sequence tasks. - Scripting in Python and familiarity with Bonsai and Harp or comparable behavior-control tools. - Experience building and maintaining behavior rigs, including lickport and other custom hardware. - Experience with two-photon imaging or optogenetic stimulation in awake mice. - Colony management experience and comfort coordinating with vivarium staff. Education - BS or BA in neuroscience, biology, bioengineering, or a related field, or equivalent hands-on experience. We value demonstrated skill and relevant experience above credentials. Compensation The posted salary range is based on location in the Bay Area. The successful candidate will receive a competitive compensation package, including comprehensive benefits, commensurate with their experience. Why Join Us This is a chance to help build a rodent neuroscience program from the ground up, in a team where preparation quality is treated as a scientific result rather than support work. You will work alongside scientists, engineers, and veterinary staff who treat excellent animal care as inseparable from excellent science. There is real room to grow as the program expands. We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity and inclusion.