H-1B Visa Associate Scientist Jobs
Associate Scientist roles qualify as H-1B visa specialty occupations when the position requires at least a bachelor's degree in chemistry, biology, biochemistry, or a directly related field. Pharma, biotech, and CRO employers sponsor H-1B visas for these roles regularly, and the 85,000-slot annual cap means timing your job search around the April lottery window matters.
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Get Access To All JobsThe Associate Scientist will serve as the platform lead for Xenium spatial transcriptomics projects at Single Cell Biology Lab (SCBL) within The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine, ensuring the timely delivery of high-quality, robust data. The SCBL is a core facility supporting the scientific research community with cutting-edge single-cell technologies, including dissociative single-cell omics, spatial omics, and high-content screening. This role is central to the lab's spatial genomics capabilities, requiring deep expertise in the Xenium workflow, exceptional project coordination, and strong communication with scientific stakeholders.
The ideal candidate will be the technical expert for all Xenium operations from sample handling and experimental execution to data quality control and workflow optimization. You will leverage your strong background in molecular biology, tissue handling, and single-cell technologies to enhance and expand the capabilities of the Single Cell Biology Lab.
Key Responsibilities & Essential Functions
- Platform Leadership: Serve as the Xenium Platform Lead and Subject Matter Expert (SME), providing guidance and support to end-users and the broader scientific community.
- Project Management & Execution: Coordinate the full lifecycle of Xenium projects, including managing sample submission and receiving, providing service quotations, executing experiments, and ensuring final data quality control (QC).
- System Maintenance: Oversee instrument management, including maintaining the Xenium instrument, managing stock and inventory, and performing advanced troubleshooting of equipment and assays.
- Process Optimization & Development: Drive the continuous improvement of the platform by optimizing existing workflows and developing new spatial genomics capabilities and technologies.
- Scientific Awareness: Stay current with the newest developments in the spatial genomics field and effectively communicate technological updates to the team and research community.
- Meticulous Documentation: Maintain excellent documentation standards, including comprehensive lab notebooks, SOPs, error/work logs, metadata, and sample information.
- Stakeholder Communication: Ensure seamless communication with end-users, vendors, colleagues, and managers to coordinate and successfully complete all Xenium projects.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
Required
- Education: Master’s degree (M.S.) in Biology, Molecular Biology, or a related scientific field.
- Experience: 2-4 years of experience in a core facility or industry setting.
- Molecular & RNA Biology: Deep and comprehensive understanding of RNA and molecular biology principles, including associated assays.
- Imaging-Based Spatial Genomics Expertise: Hands-on experience with FISH-based platforms, including 10x Genomics Xenium, MERFISH, and seqFISH.
- Technical Breadth: Comprehensive knowledge of various spatial genomics technologies (e.g., Xenium, Visium, MERFISH, seqFISH).
- Sample Handling: Direct experience with tissue sectioning, handling, and immunohistochemistry (IHC) techniques.
- Documentation: Experience in writing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and familiarity with Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) and Electronic Lab Notebooks (ELN).
- Operational Skills: Proven project and lab management experience, including managing stock, inventory, and instrument uptime.
- Soft Skills: Exceptional communication, interpersonal, and presentation skills; proven ability to thrive as a team player within interdisciplinary groups.
Preferred
- Education: Ph.D. preferred
- Single-Cell Experience: Hands-on experience with single-cell technologies (e.g., 10x Chromium, smart-seq, split-and-pool methods).
- Biopharma Industry Experience: Preferred experience working in an industrial setting, such as the biotechnology or pharmaceutical sector, demonstrating familiarity with industry-standard workflows and requirements.
- Histology Expertise: Experience in histopathology.
- Development: Proven track record in technology development or assay optimization.
Pay Range: $69,711 - $90,624
CA-NL6
About JAX:
The Jackson Laboratory is an independent, nonprofit biomedical research institution with a National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center and nearly 3,000 employees in locations across the United States (Maine, Connecticut, California), Japan and China. Its mission is to discover precise genomic solutions for disease and empower the global biomedical community in the shared quest to improve human health.
Founded in 1929, JAX applies over nine decades of expertise in genetics to increase understanding of human disease, advancing treatments and cures for cancer, neurological and immune disorders, diabetes, aging and heart disease. It models and interprets genomic complexity, integrates basic research with clinical application, educates current and future scientists, and provides critical data, tools and services to the global biomedical community.
EEO Statement:
The Jackson Laboratory provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment in all job classifications without regard to race, color, religion, age, mental disability, physical disability, medical condition, gender, sexual orientation, genetic information, ancestry, marital status, national origin, veteran status, and other classifications protected by applicable state and local non-discrimination laws.
The Associate Scientist will serve as the platform lead for Xenium spatial transcriptomics projects at Single Cell Biology Lab (SCBL) within The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine, ensuring the timely delivery of high-quality, robust data. The SCBL is a core facility supporting the scientific research community with cutting-edge single-cell technologies, including dissociative single-cell omics, spatial omics, and high-content screening. This role is central to the lab's spatial genomics capabilities, requiring deep expertise in the Xenium workflow, exceptional project coordination, and strong communication with scientific stakeholders.
The ideal candidate will be the technical expert for all Xenium operations from sample handling and experimental execution to data quality control and workflow optimization. You will leverage your strong background in molecular biology, tissue handling, and single-cell technologies to enhance and expand the capabilities of the Single Cell Biology Lab.
Key Responsibilities & Essential Functions
- Platform Leadership: Serve as the Xenium Platform Lead and Subject Matter Expert (SME), providing guidance and support to end-users and the broader scientific community.
- Project Management & Execution: Coordinate the full lifecycle of Xenium projects, including managing sample submission and receiving, providing service quotations, executing experiments, and ensuring final data quality control (QC).
- System Maintenance: Oversee instrument management, including maintaining the Xenium instrument, managing stock and inventory, and performing advanced troubleshooting of equipment and assays.
- Process Optimization & Development: Drive the continuous improvement of the platform by optimizing existing workflows and developing new spatial genomics capabilities and technologies.
- Scientific Awareness: Stay current with the newest developments in the spatial genomics field and effectively communicate technological updates to the team and research community.
- Meticulous Documentation: Maintain excellent documentation standards, including comprehensive lab notebooks, SOPs, error/work logs, metadata, and sample information.
- Stakeholder Communication: Ensure seamless communication with end-users, vendors, colleagues, and managers to coordinate and successfully complete all Xenium projects.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
Required
- Education: Master’s degree (M.S.) in Biology, Molecular Biology, or a related scientific field.
- Experience: 2-4 years of experience in a core facility or industry setting.
- Molecular & RNA Biology: Deep and comprehensive understanding of RNA and molecular biology principles, including associated assays.
- Imaging-Based Spatial Genomics Expertise: Hands-on experience with FISH-based platforms, including 10x Genomics Xenium, MERFISH, and seqFISH.
- Technical Breadth: Comprehensive knowledge of various spatial genomics technologies (e.g., Xenium, Visium, MERFISH, seqFISH).
- Sample Handling: Direct experience with tissue sectioning, handling, and immunohistochemistry (IHC) techniques.
- Documentation: Experience in writing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and familiarity with Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) and Electronic Lab Notebooks (ELN).
- Operational Skills: Proven project and lab management experience, including managing stock, inventory, and instrument uptime.
- Soft Skills: Exceptional communication, interpersonal, and presentation skills; proven ability to thrive as a team player within interdisciplinary groups.
Preferred
- Education: Ph.D. preferred
- Single-Cell Experience: Hands-on experience with single-cell technologies (e.g., 10x Chromium, smart-seq, split-and-pool methods).
- Biopharma Industry Experience: Preferred experience working in an industrial setting, such as the biotechnology or pharmaceutical sector, demonstrating familiarity with industry-standard workflows and requirements.
- Histology Expertise: Experience in histopathology.
- Development: Proven track record in technology development or assay optimization.
Pay Range: $69,711 - $90,624
CA-NL6
About JAX:
The Jackson Laboratory is an independent, nonprofit biomedical research institution with a National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center and nearly 3,000 employees in locations across the United States (Maine, Connecticut, California), Japan and China. Its mission is to discover precise genomic solutions for disease and empower the global biomedical community in the shared quest to improve human health.
Founded in 1929, JAX applies over nine decades of expertise in genetics to increase understanding of human disease, advancing treatments and cures for cancer, neurological and immune disorders, diabetes, aging and heart disease. It models and interprets genomic complexity, integrates basic research with clinical application, educates current and future scientists, and provides critical data, tools and services to the global biomedical community.
EEO Statement:
The Jackson Laboratory provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment in all job classifications without regard to race, color, religion, age, mental disability, physical disability, medical condition, gender, sexual orientation, genetic information, ancestry, marital status, national origin, veteran status, and other classifications protected by applicable state and local non-discrimination laws.
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Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding H-1B Visa Sponsorship as an Associate Scientist
Verify your degree maps to the role
USCIS scrutinizes whether your degree field directly relates to the Associate Scientist position. A biochemistry or molecular biology degree supports most lab-based roles; a general science degree may trigger a Request for Evidence. Pull the O*NET profile for your exact SOC code before applying.
Target employers with active LCA filings
Use Migrate Mate to filter Associate Scientist roles by employers with verified H-1B Labor Condition Application history. A company that has filed LCAs for your SOC code recently is far more likely to move through sponsorship without delays than one sponsoring for the first time.
Check prevailing wage before negotiating your offer
Your employer must pay at least the DOL prevailing wage for your job title, location, and experience level. Run your offer through the OFLC Wage Search before accepting so you know whether the salary satisfies Level I or Level II requirements for your specific metro area.
Confirm the role is classified as specialty occupation
Associate Scientist postings sometimes list a bachelor's degree as preferred rather than required. USCIS will deny an H-1B petition for any role where the degree requirement isn't mandatory. Ask the recruiter directly whether the job description on the I-129 specifies degree as a minimum requirement.
Plan your application timeline around the lottery window
H-1B cap-subject petitions must be filed by April 1 for an October 1 start date. If you're finishing OPT or CPT, map your program end date against that window. Employers filing after the lottery cycle closes can't start a cap-subject hire until the following fiscal year.
Ask about premium processing during offer negotiation
USCIS premium processing upgrades your I-129 adjudication to 15 business days. For Associate Scientist roles with a defined project start date or clinical trial timeline, ask whether your employer will elect premium processing before signing the offer letter, not after.
H-1B Visa Associate Scientist: Frequently Asked Questions
Does an Associate Scientist role qualify as an H-1B specialty occupation?
Yes, provided the position requires at least a bachelor's degree in a specific field such as chemistry, biology, biochemistry, or a related discipline. USCIS evaluates the job duties, not just the title. If the role accepts any bachelor's degree regardless of field, it may not meet the specialty occupation standard and the petition could face denial or a Request for Evidence.
Which industries sponsor H-1B visas for Associate Scientist positions?
Pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology firms, contract research organizations, and medical device manufacturers are the most consistent H-1B sponsors for Associate Scientist roles. Academic research institutions and government contractors also file regularly. To find employers with verified H-1B filing history for this specific title and location, search for Associate Scientist roles on Migrate Mate.
What happens to my H-1B status if my Associate Scientist contract ends early?
If your employer terminates your H-1B before the approved end date, you have a 60-day grace period to find a new employer willing to file an H-1B transfer, change your status, or depart the U.S. The new employer's attorney files an H-1B transfer petition, and you can begin working as soon as USCIS receives it, not when it's approved.
Can I switch from a postdoctoral fellowship to an H-1B Associate Scientist role?
Yes. If you're on J-1 visa status, check whether you're subject to the two-year home residency requirement before pursuing H-1B sponsorship. J-1 holders with that requirement need a waiver before changing status. F-1 OPT holders can transfer directly into H-1B status if their employer files before OPT expires and the lottery selects their registration.
How do I find out what prevailing wage my employer must pay for this role?
The DOL prevailing wage for an Associate Scientist position depends on the specific SOC code, the work location, and the experience level assigned to the role. You can look up wage levels using the OFLC Wage Search. Your employer must certify on the LCA that your salary meets at least the Level I or Level II prevailing wage for that location before USCIS will approve the petition.