New Opportunities!

 

Baltimore Underground Science Space (BUGSS) has multiple openings for both lead instructors and mentors/TAs. See below to find out more!

 

Instructor and TAs for How to Grow Almost Anything course

 

BUGSS is thrilled to be participating as a regional node of the international and acclaimed How to Grow Almost Anything course from Harvard/MIT. Check it out! 

To help facilitate the program, we are hiring one instructor (paid) and up to 4 TAs (unpaid) to support class participants. As instructors, you will be expected to work closely with project members of highly varying skill and experience levels. The position requires the ability to teach in an informal setting, strong laboratory skills in biotechnology, molecular biology, or a related field, and exceptional interpersonal communication skills.

For the paid instructor, an advanced degree (M.S., Ph.D.) in the biological sciences is preferred, however candidates with relevant industrial laboratory experience will be considered. The TA positions are ideal for graduate students and/or postdocs looking for mentorship experience.

  • The instructor leads recitation section and participates in design of laboratory projects and experiments
    • Meets at BUGSS (101 N Haven St, Baltimore 21224)
    • Program runs from February 3 – May 12
    • Meeting times are Monday from 6-7 pm for a virtual instructor/TA session, Tuesdays from 2-5 pm for the weekly virtual course session (provided by the How to Grow Almost Anything program), Wednesdays from 5-8 pm for class recitation, and an additional 5 hours for laboratory research.
    • Pay: $3360 total for the instructor; TA positions are voluntary

The position is part time and temporary You will be expected to spend approximately 12 hours per week on-site with additional remote time for video calls and documentation/research activities. On-sight time may fluctuate depending on the needs of the project. The instructor will be hired as independent contractor and will have the opportunity to set a schedule that meets the needs of the project and the schedules of class participants.

To apply, please send a statement of interest and a copy of your CV to info@bugssonline.org. Please feel free to also reach out with any questions!

 

Instructor and mentors for the iGEM competition

 

Since 2015, BUGSS has hosted a high school team, the Baltimore BioCrew, for the iGEM competition. iGEM (the International Genetically Engineered Machines (iGEM) competition is an annual event open to undergraduate teams, high school students, and community labs from around the world. Explore the iGEM website: http://competition.igem.org/  and check out information about our team: iGem and the Baltimore BioCrew.  It’s kind of a big deal, with teams working all year to make their own genetic machines from existing and novel parts. Our group has engineered bacteria to break down plastic contaminating the Chesapeake Bay, to produce snake venom proteins to start the process of blood clotting in emergency situations, and to detect recurrence of triple negative breast cancer. We’re thrilled to have won medals each year that we’ve participated!

The team of 20-25 students meets every Saturday from March through November at the BUGSS lab at 101 N. Haven St in Baltimore. To help facilitate the program, we are hiring one instructor (paid) and up to 8 mentors (unpaid) to support our team. The position requires the ability to teach in an informal setting, strong laboratory skills in biotechnology, molecular biology, or a related field, exceptional interpersonal communication skills, and a willingness and interest in working with and mentoring high school students.

For the paid instructor, an advanced degree (M.S., Ph.D.) in the biological sciences is preferred, however candidates with relevant industrial laboratory experience will be considered. The mentor positions are ideal for graduate students and/or postdocs looking for experience with mentoring, leadership, and project development.

  • Meets at BUGSS (101 N Haven St, Baltimore 21224)
  • Program runs from March 7 – Nov 7, 2026
  • The instructor oversees all aspects of the program and serves as the secondary PI for the iGEM team. Pay is $4950 total for the instructor.
    • Instructor leads the meetings on Saturdays from 12-5 pm
    • Sessions involve team updates and coordination, teaching of lab skills and concepts of synthetic biology and molecular genetics, development of a genetic engineering project including literature research, documentation of lab work and project development, conducting lab experiments, and production of a team wiki and presentation describing team results.
  • The team is also divided into subteams which meet virtually for 1 per week, and mentors lead these sessions. Mentor positions are unpaid.
    • Subteams cover distinct aspects of the project, including literature research and design of genetic constructs, math modeling, wiki coding, education and outreach, developing a business plan to market the biological invention (optional), and interviewing stakeholders and scientific experts.

These positions are part time and temporary. The instructor will be expected to spend approximately 8 hours per week involved with the project through both on-site Saturday time (5 hours) and additional remote time for video calls, planning, and documentation/research activities. On-sight time may fluctuate depending on the needs of the project. The instructor will be hired as independent contractor and will have the opportunity to set a schedule that meets the needs of the project and the schedules of team members.

A criminal background check is required for all instructors and mentors working with the iGEM program.

To find out more, we encourage you to attend one of our information sessions on Jan 24th or 29, 2026: Info sessions

To apply, please send a statement of interest and a copy of your CV to info@bugssonline.org. Please feel free to also reach out with any questions!