About the Opportunity

The Tissue Culture Lab Operations Intern will support the TC Lab by conducting a focused efficiency‑improvement project across both robotic and manual production workflows. The intern will collect operational data, map process steps, and analyze key production metrics to identify workflow delays, bottlenecks, and waste points. The primary goal of this internship is to provide clear, data‑driven recommendations to enhance throughput, improve robot utilization, and streamline daily lab operations.
Working closely with lab technicians, supervisors, and the automation team, the intern will gain hands‑on exposure to tissue culture production, laboratory operations, and the use of robotic systems in plant propagation. This is a meaningful opportunity for someone interested in lab operations, process optimization, and applied biotechnology.

 

Responsibilities

• Collect, organize, and analyze operational data across tissue culture workflows (manual and robotic).

• Track key production metrics such as contamination rates, cycle times, throughput, and success rates.

• Support workflow mapping to document how materials move through the TC Lab, identifying bottlenecks and improvement opportunities.

• Assist with digitizing paper logs and converting them into structured datasets.

• Create dashboards, reports, or visual summaries that help the team monitor daily operations.

• Participate in evaluating material readiness for upcoming production cycles, including availability of clones, explants, and media.

• Collaborate with lab technicians, media prep, inventory, and robotics teams to ensure process alignment.

• Identify potential operational risks, delays, or inefficiencies and communicate observations proactively.

• Contribute to continuous improvement projects aimed at enhancing throughput, reducing waste, and streamlining overall lab operations.

   

Candidate Profile

***IMPORTANT***
- This is an on-site, 6-month internship based in Watsonville, CA, ideally starting in May/June to December
- A housing stipend is NOT available for this internship
- We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment Visa at this time or in the future. Applicants must be authorized to work for ANY employer in the U.S.
- Must be a recent graduate within the last 6 months or graduating by Summer 2026

Requirements

• Degree focus in one or more of the following areas: Biology, Plant Science, Biotechnology, Agribusiness, Agriculture, Horticulture, Business Administration, Operations Management, Mathematics, Statistics, Data Analytics
• Strong analytical and organizational skills. 
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel; familiarity with Power BI or other visualization tools is a plus. 
• Ability to interpret operational data and understand production workflows. 
• Comfortable working in a laboratory production environment (training provided). 
• Strong communication and collaboration skills. 
• Interest in lab operations, production efficiency, workflow optimization, or automation.

Compensation

The following information is provided in good faith as a general description of the salary range and benefits for the position posted.  The actual compensation offered to the successful candidate is dependent upon experience, skills, education, work location, internal pay equity, and other objective job-related factors.

The hourly rate for this internship is $23.00 and applies to recent graduates within 6 months of graduation or students graduating this summer.