Scientist - Mars Simulation Systems
Emeryville, CA$130k - $170kfull-timePosted 2w ago
About the role
Scientist to design and operate low-pressure Mars simulation devices, integrate hardware with biologists, and help translate laboratory work into mission concepts for Mars, the Moon, and low Earth orbit. Full-time in-person role based in Emeryville, California.
Responsibilities
- Design, build, and operate low-pressure Mars simulation devices with controlled temperature, gas composition, illumination, and humidity or water activity
- Integrate vacuum hardware, sensors, imaging, data acquisition, and automation
- Collaborate with biologists to design and operate hardware for long-duration evolution experiments
- Characterize biomaterials and biological growth aided by biomaterial structures
- Create computational models corresponding to experimental apparatus, including thermal models
- Contribute to developing mission concepts for flight testing biotech in LEO, Moon, and Mars
Qualifications
- Training in materials science or related field, PhD not required
- Hands-on experience designing, operating, and troubleshooting vacuum or low-pressure experiments
- Experience building custom apparatus, integrating sensors, calibrating instruments, and quantifying uncertainty
- Solid foundation in thermal physics, heat transfer, radiative transfer, gas dynamics, thermodynamics, or phase change
- Ability to model physical systems and analyze data using Python, MATLAB, Julia, or similar tools
- Experience with space mission design and/or execution is desirable but not required
- Evidence of ability to move between disciplines and between theory and experiment
- Excellent interpersonal skills and willingness to learn new skills and teach them to others
- Strong verbal and written communication
- Genuine excitement about space and ambitious science without a standard protocol
Skills
Required:Low-pressure vacuum experimentationHardware integrationThermal modelingComputational modelingProgrammingScience communicationInterdisciplinary collaboration
Benefits
- Visa sponsorship on a case-by-case basis
- Health Insurance (medical, dental, and vision) for employee and dependents
- Family leave (up to 12 weeks)
- Flexible time off policy
- Employer-matched 401(k) plan
Last updated Oct 9, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.
About Pioneer Labs
where no microbe has gone before
Pioneer Labs is a nonprofit research nonprofit startup engineering microbes for Mars. We engineer hardy critters that perform gracefully even in the extreme conditions of space. By doing so, we aim to make biomanufacturing ubiquitous, reliable, and green — on Earth and beyond.
Pioneer SpeciesLife finds a wayWork together with natureMarshabitatsbiologyspace science
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