Student Positions

Approximately half of BioServe's workforce is made up of CU students at various stages in their academic careers (from freshman B.S. students to last-semester PhD students). BioServe provides its student workforce with unparalled opportunies to get hands-on experience on real spaceflight projects. Students are often able to start on a project and see it flown before they graduate (sometimes multiple times!). BioServe "graduates" are highly valued and have previously gone on to destinations such as NASA, Lockheed Martin, SpaceX, Blue Origin, and medical school.

Depending on experience and background, student responsibilities may include the following:

  • Flight Hardware and Kit Manufacturing, Assembly, and Checkout
  • Operations Support
  • Systems Engineering
  • Biological Lab Work (Cell Culture, Microscopy, Rodent Work, etc.)
  • Mechanical Design and Analysis
  • Electrical Design and Analysis
  • Software Engineering and IT

Selection for student positions at BioServe is highly competitive. Applicants should be pursuing a degree in a relevant science or engineering field and demonstrate superior technical aptitude as evidenced by a strong GPA and exposure to real-world engineering and science challenges. Prior professional experience in aerospace or life sciences is not required; however, applicants should be able to demonstrate skills and experience related to:

  1. Problem solving, with examples of the objective, challenge, resources, and solution;
  2. Writing, editing, and following technical documentation (e.g. procedure, protocols);
  3. Teamwork, with examples of both leadership and followership.

The hourly pay rates and job codes are as follows:

Title

Job Code

Pay Range
July 2022 - June 2023

Student Assistant I - Entry/Semi-Skilled

4101

$15.00 - $21.40

Student Assistant II - Intermediate/Advanced

4102

$15.00 - $23.00

Student Assistant III - Specialist/Lead

4103

$16.60 - $27.80

Student Assistant IV - Paraprofessional

4104

$18.20 - $31.00

For more information on the job descriptions, please click here.

 

CURRENTLY OPEN POSITIONS:

STUDENT ASSISTANT

BioServe Space Technologies within the Aerospace Engineering Sciences Department is actively looking for a Student Assistant I, II, or III position with immediate start. The position will involve:

  • Stem cell culture for flight experiments onboard the International Space Station. This includes work with iPSC and hPSC in attached and suspended culture including seeding, feeding, passaging, cryopreservation, as well as characterizations such as cell counting, microscopy, and viability assays. 
  • Technical documentation, including following established procedures, editing new procedures, and writing test reports.
  • Lab organization and maintenance, including checking inventory quantities, discarding expired materials, and organizing material storage.
  • This job does include work on the weekend.

To apply, please send your cover letter and resume (combined into one PDF) to tobias.niederwieser@colorado.edu. The cover letter should summarize skills and experience in previous cell culture work. Please include your expected graduation date in the body of the email.

STUDENT ASSISTANT (UNDERGRADUATE)

BioServe is not currently hiring, but will accept applications for Student Assistant I, II, or III positions to for the Fall 2024 semester. The position will involve:

  • Design, prototyping, manufacturing, and assembly of critical spaceflight kits that will be used by the ISS astronauts to complete science experiments.
  • Real-time operations support of the ISS astronauts performing experiments.
  • Technical documentation, including following established procedures, editing new procedures, and writing test reports.
  • Lab organization and maintenance, including checking inventory quantities, discarding expired materials, and organizing material storage.

To apply, please send your cover letter and resume (combined into one PDF) to stuart.tozer@colorado.edu. The cover letter should summarize skills and experience in the three areas listed above (1. Problem solving, 2. Technical documentation, 3. Teamwork). Please include your expected graduation date in the body of the email.