Research Technician III; McHugh

Special Instructions to Applicants:

All interested applicants should attach a resume in the Supporting Documents section of the application, preferably in a PDF format to avoid any formatting issues.

Boasting a 300-acre tree-lined campus in Houston, Texas, Rice University is ranked among the nation’s top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has a 6-to-1 undergraduate student‑to‑faculty ratio, and a residential college system, which supports students intellectually, emotionally and culturally through social events, intramural sports, student plays, lecture series, courses and student government. Developing close‑knit, diverse college communities is a strong campus tradition, which is why Rice is highly ranked for best quality of life and best value among private universities.

Rice is also a wonderful place to work. Rice faculty, staff and students share values that are essential to our success as a healthy community. Those values guide our decisions and behaviors and shape Rice’s culture. They come through in the way we treat each other and the welcome we extend to our visitors. These values can be recalled simply by our name – RICE – Responsibility, Integrity, Community and Excellence.

The George R. Brown School of Engineering and Computing ranks among the top 20 undergraduate engineering programs (U.S. News & World Report) and is strongly committed to nurturing the aspirations of faculty, staff, and students in an inclusive environment. We seek greater representation of women, minorities, people with disabilities, and veterans in disciplines in which they have historically been underrepresented; to attract international students from a wider range of countries and backgrounds;

to accelerate progress in building a faculty and staff who are diverse in background and thought; and to support an inclusive environment that fosters interaction and understanding within our diverse community.

The McHugh Lab in the Department of Bioengineering at Rice University seeks to hire a Research Technician II to support research focused on the development of translational vaccine and drug delivery platforms. The lab’s work integrates biomaterials design, advanced manufacturing techniques, and immunoengineering to develop delivery systems for applications ranging from infectious disease prophylaxis to cancer therapeutics.

This position will support an interdisciplinary research project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, focused on developing controlled‑release vaccine delivery systems to enable combination vaccines. The research involves fabricating microparticle‑based delivery platforms designed to modulate antigen release timing and reduce immunological interference between co‑delivered vaccines, including the encapsulation of a next‑generation polio vaccine using the Particles Uniformly Liquified and Sealed to Encapsulate Drug (PULSED) platform.

Under the direction of the Principal Investigator and senior research staff, the Research Technician II will independently perform a range of laboratory techniques, support in vitro and in vivo studies, analyze experimental data, and assist with optimizing and troubleshooting established protocols. The role requires close collaboration with postdoctoral researchers and graduate students and contributes directly to the execution of ongoing sponsored research activities.

More information about the McHugh Lab can be found here: (Use the "Apply for this Job" box below)..edu

The ideal candidate has prior laboratory research experience and is comfortable independently performing wet‑lab based experimental work in a structured research environment. They are detail‑oriented, reliable, and capable of executing established protocols while identifying and resolving routine technical issues. The successful candidate works well in a collaborative, interdisciplinary team and is motivated to contribute to translational research focused on vaccine development and global health applications.

This position is exclusively on‑site, necessitating all duties to…