Technical Applications Scientist

About the role

Element Biosciences cultivates an environment where scientific curiosity drives meaningful advancement for the global research community, and this role places you at the center of that mission. You will own the end-to-end resolution of complex applications and informatics inquiries, ensuring that customers can rely on our instruments and workflows without friction. This position demands that you act as both a technical expert and a trusted advisor, translating intricate instrument behavior into clear, actionable guidance. You will serve as the primary interface for critical support cases, balancing empathy with analytical rigor to protect the user experience. Through collaboration with commercial and R&D teams, you will directly influence product improvements that enhance scientific outcomes. The role requires a proactive mindset, where identifying patterns in failure modes leads to systemic solutions rather than temporary fixes. You will be measured by your ability to resolve issues efficiently while reinforcing the integrity and reliability of our platform.

Key facts

What you'll do

Provide frontline ownership of customer support for applications and informatics related inquiries and issues across diverse workflows.

Triage incoming general customer complaints and accurately classify them as applications, software, or hardware issues to route cases to the correct internal specialist.

Support the escalation management process for applications and informatics issues that require intervention from internal R&D and Operations partners.

Review detailed instrument run logs and systematically query internal databases to isolate anomalies and troubleshoot problems over the phone or via email.

Synthesize customer feedback and translate it into concrete design change recommendations that prioritize the end-user experience.

Identify root causes for recurring applications and informatics issues and propose data-driven recommendations that influence product roadmaps and drive customer success.

Develop creative and practical support strategies, update service manuals, and create standardized procedures for new products and product updates.

Develop and validate applications and informatics troubleshooting documentation to ensure consistency and accuracy across support channels.

Provide technical guidance and mentorship to technical support and field applications peers during collaborative problem-solving sessions.

Display unwavering professionalism, understanding, tact, and technical knowledge in every customer interaction to maintain trust and confidence.

Utilize the service CRM software to dispatch tasks accurately and document all work in a timely manner to maintain clear case histories.

Provide the broader customer support team with in-depth troubleshooting debriefs and deliver regular updates or training on applications and informatics changes.

Partner directly with Software Development and Applications teams to architect and deliver appropriate technical solutions for customer analysis workflows.

Maintain detailed records of support activities and resolutions to inform internal knowledge bases and improve future response times.

Champion best practices by proactively sharing insights about emerging issues and effective mitigation strategies across the organization.

Requirements

Bachelors Degree with some relevant in house or field-based applications experience in molecular biology, genetics, bioinformatics or related field or Bachelors Degree with considerable in-house or field-based applications support experience; Masters Degree is a plus.

Minimum 1 year of experience with customer support and/or in biotech industry to ensure familiarity with commercial environments and expectations.

Experience parsing large instrument logs to identify common patterns and transform them into actionable improvements.

Familiarity with Multi-omics workflows is a plus to better contextualize complex customer use cases and support needs.

Experience working with instrumentation that involves optics, microfluidics, and electromechanical systems is a plus to address a wider range of technical challenges.

Excellent verbal and written communications skills to articulate technical concepts clearly and professionally.

Must have good technical writing abilities to produce accurate documentation and support materials under tight deadlines.

Must be able to lift up to 20 pounds to handle laboratory equipment and related hardware during on-site support visits if required.

Must be flexible in working hours as this position may require customer support during non-regular business hours to cover global time zones.

Nice to have

Familiarity with Multi-omics workflows is a plus.

Experience working with instrumentation with optics, microfluidics, and electromechanical systems is a plus.

Practical notes

Domestic and International travel up to 10%.

Full-time/Exempt position.

Onsite work is required in San Diego.