Role Overview
Natera is hiring a entry-level Associate Scientist, R&D. This is a full-time role in Austin. Part of Natera's Qa hiring, posted last week. Full responsibilities, required qualifications, and the apply link are listed in the description below.
Salary Context
Salary is not disclosed in this posting. Market median for Junior-level Qa roles is $90k-$136k (based on 51 comparable listings). Many employers share specifics during the interview process or after an initial screen.
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Job description
POSITION SUMMARY:
Join Natera's Bio Development team as an Associate Scientist to design, optimize, and validate molecular assays for our market-leading non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) platform. This role bridges molecular biology with high-throughput liquid handling automation to directly impact patient care. The ideal candidate possesses strong experience in assay development, automated workflows, and data analysis, operating with an ownership mindset to convert scientific data into scalable clinical protocols.
PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Design, plan, and execute complex laboratory experiments autonomously to advance non-invasive prenatal test development
- Analyze experimental data using advanced analytical tools, providing data-driven insights and troubleshooting laboratory processes
- Own and document technical workflows, summarizing findings in research reports and laboratory presentations
- Partner cross-functionally with Clinical Laboratory Operations (CLIA), Quality Assurance (QA), and Automation Engineering to ensure methods meet rigorous quality and regulatory standards
- Write standard operating procedures (SOPs) and technical documentation to seamlessly transfer protocols to manufacturing and operations teams
- Train junior team members and operator teams on newly developed protocols
- Maintain deep professional expertise by staying current with scientific literature relevant to cell-free DNA and nucleic acid technologies
QUALIFICATIONS:
- BA/BS with 6+ years of experience OR MS with 3+ years of experience in assay development and automation within the life sciences industry
- Demonstrated track record of developing, optimizing, and validating manual and automated protocols
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES:
- Strong underlying scientific knowledge of nucleic acid extraction, PCR, NGS library preparation, and hybrid capture technologies
- Hands-on experience in reagent preparation and quality control for NGS-associated assays
- Direct experience implementing, optimizing, and troubleshooting high-throughput automated assays utilizing liquid handler robotics
- Experience designing and executing formal design control studies, including stability, guard banding, reproducibility, repeatability, and validation
- Prior experience operating within a regulated laboratory environment (CLIA, CAP, or FDA)
- Data analysis and scripting proficiency in Python or R, along with liquid handler programming experience, is highly preferred
- Excellent cross-functional collaboration, organizational, and time management skills
OUR OPPORTUNITY
Natera™ is a global leader in cell-free DNA (cfDNA) testing, dedicated to oncology, women’s health, and organ health. Our aim is to make personalized genetic testing and diagnostics part of the standard of care to protect health and enable earlier and more targeted interventions that lead to longer, healthier lives.
The Natera team consists of highly dedicated statisticians, geneticists, doctors, laboratory scientists, business professionals, software engineers and many other professionals from world-class institutions, who care deeply for our work and each other. When you join Natera, you’ll work hard and grow quickly. Working alongside the elite of the industry, you’ll be stretched and challenged, and take pride in being part of a company that is changing the landscape of genetic disease management.
WHAT WE OFFER
Competitive Benefits - Employee benefits include comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life and disability plans for eligible employees and their dependents. Additionally, Natera employees and their immediate families receive free testing in addition to fertility care benefits. Other benefits include pregnancy and baby bonding leave, 401k benefits, commuter benefits and much more. We also offer a generous employee referral program!
For more information, visit www.natera.com.
Natera is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to ensuring a diverse and inclusive workplace environment, and welcome people of different backgrounds, experiences, abilities and perspectives. Inclusive collaboration benefits our employees, our community and our patients, and is critical to our mission of changing the management of disease worldwide.
All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply, and will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, age, veteran status, disability or any other legally protected status. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with applicable laws.
If you are based in California, we encourage you to read this important information for California residents.
Link: https://www.natera.com/notice-of-data-collection-california-residents/
Please be advised that Natera will reach out to candidates with a @natera.com email domain ONLY. Email communications from all other domain names are not from Natera or its employees and are fraudulent. Natera does not request interviews via text messages and does not ask for personal information until a candidate has engaged with the company and has spoken to a recruiter and the hiring team. Natera takes cyber crimes seriously, and will collaborate with law enforcement authorities to prosecute any related cyber crimes.
For more information:
- BBB announcement on job scams
- FBI Cyber Crime resource page
About Natera
Natera
natera.com
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Frequently Asked Questions
How do I apply for the Associate Scientist, R&D position at Natera?
Use the Apply button above to submit your application directly to Natera. Most applications take less than 5 minutes if your resume and contact details are ready, and you'll be routed to the employer's official application system to finish.
Where is the Associate Scientist, R&D position at Natera located?
This position is based in Austin. Natera has not indicated remote or hybrid options for this role, so candidates should plan for on-site work.
What does a Associate Scientist, R&D at Natera earn?
Natera has not disclosed a salary range in this posting. Many employers share specifics later in the interview process; you can also ask during a recruiter screen if compensation transparency is important to you.
When was the Associate Scientist, R&D role at Natera posted?
This role was posted on July 8, 2026 (7 days ago). It's still listed as actively hiring; we re-confirm openings against the source system multiple times per day and remove closed roles.
Is the Associate Scientist, R&D role at Natera entry-level?
Yes. This is an entry-level position. Strong candidates typically have 0-2 years of relevant work experience, internships, or significant project work. Read the full description for any specific qualification requirements Natera has listed.
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