Postdoctoral Researcher and Research Technician Positions in Cellular Avatars, Bioengineering, Immunology, and Single-Cell Technologies The University of Tokyo in Japan

The University of Tokyo School of Science is recruiting for a JST Moonshot project on Cellular Avatars and nanovial-based functional screening. The post highlights interdisciplinary research at the intersection of bioengineering, immunology, cell therapy, synthetic biology, single-cell technologies, and flow cytometry/FACS.

Openings: one postdoctoral researcher and one research technician / project academic specialist-type role. The work is based at the University of Tokyo, Hongo Campus, Tokyo, Japan, and is available as early as possible after hiring procedures.

Research focus: developing lab-on-a-particle and Nanovial workflows for loading, culturing, assaying, and recovering engineered Avatar cells; measuring secretion, cell–cell interaction responses, and functional phenotypes; optimizing secretion capture/detection assays; and integrating downstream analyses such as transcript profiling and single-cell readouts.

Postdoctoral researcher requirements: Ph.D. in a relevant field such as bioengineering, biomedical engineering, chemical engineering, cell biology, molecular biology, immunology, synthetic biology, or biophysics. Strong experimental skills in cell-based assays and quantitative biology are expected. Preferred experience includes flow cytometry, FACS, high-throughput screening, single-cell analysis, mammalian cell engineering, immune cells, secretion assays, microfluidics, hydrogel microparticles, Nanovials, and computational analysis in Python/R/FlowJo/Seurat.

Research technician requirements: bachelor’s degree in a related field, hands-on mammalian cell culture experience, strong organization, careful documentation, and willingness to learn Nanovial and sorting workflows. Experience with flow cytometry, fluorescence staining, ELISA/cytokine assays, microscopy QC, engineered cells, and post-sort recovery is preferred.

Funding: the postdoctoral role starts at JPY 450,000/month and the technician role starts at JPY 300,000/month, both inclusive of applicable allowances and with commuting support up to JPY 55,000/month if eligible. Insurance coverage is provided through the MEXT Mutual Aid Association and employment insurance.

Application deadline: all documents must arrive by 2026-07-15. Applicants should email PDF attachments to [email protected] using the specified subject line and include the University of Tokyo standard resume format, cover letter, and any additional requested materials.