Research Associate

**\*\*This position is associated with a future business opportunity and is currently in the pre-proposal phase. Hiring is contingent upon contract award.\*\*** **Overview** DRT Strategies delivers expert management consulting and information technology (IT) solutions to large federal agencies, state and local government and commercial clients in health care, technology, and financial services industries. The three letters of our name, DRT, stand for Driving Resolution Together, which is the core philosophy on which the company was founded. That is, we collaborate with our clients to solve their most pressing challenges - together. We are problem solvers dedicated to your success, combining Fortune 500 experience with small business responsiveness. We have established a reputation with our clients as a forward-thinking consulting firm with demonstrated success in implementing solutions that lead to meaningful results. Our world-class consultants unite people to work collaboratively to achieve project goals and make vision a reality. **Project Description:** This opportunity supports a national public health program within the Department of Veterans Affairs, focused on disease surveillance and rapid response to emerging health events across the VA system. The work involves epidemiologic investigations, large-scale patient lookback and notification efforts, and specialized public health laboratory testing in support of clinical care and outbreak response. Personnel collaborate with a multi-disciplinary team of clinicians, epidemiologists, laboratory scientists, data analysts, and communications staff to investigate potential exposure events and deliver timely, accurate findings. This is an onsite role based in Northern California, with occasional travel to affiliated medical facilities in the surrounding region. Ideal candidates bring prior experience in a federal health, public health, or clinical research setting and are comfortable handling sensitive patient information in a fast-paced, mission-driven environment. **Job Summary:** Serve as the go-to clinical microbiology expert for a national VA public health program. You'll provide authoritative guidance on the most difficult, complex, and emerging tests, from molecular methods to specialized microbiology automation, while validating new techniques and advancing the quality of specialized testing. This is a role for a seasoned clinical microbiologist who wants to be the technical authority others turn to, working at the leading edge of diagnostic science in service of patient care. **Responsibilities:** - Serve as a subject-matter expert providing authoritative advice and consultation on difficult, complex, or unique tests using specialized knowledge (e.g., PCR, specialized tests, microbiology automation). - Apply recent, hands-on clinical microbiology experience to work with patient specimens and the instrumentation typically found in a hospital laboratory. - Perform method validations, including assessment of accuracy, precision, sensitivity, specificity, normal ranges, and interfering substances. - Apply laws, policies, and clinical laboratory accreditation requirements to establish, monitor, and maintain specialized testing. - Advise on test selection, troubleshooting, workflow, and instrumentation, and contribute to standard operating procedures. **Required Experience:** - Recent hands-on experience in a Clinical Microbiology laboratory (hospital, clinic, or reference lab) working with patient specimens and instrumentation typically found in a hospital laboratory. - Expert-level/specialized knowledge in PCR, specialized tests, and/or microbiology automation. - Experience providing authoritative advice and troubleshooting for markedly difficult, unique, or emerging tests; examples include molecular testing on the Cepheid Infinity, bacterial identification and susceptibility testing on bioMérieux VITEK, and blood-culture detection on BacT/ALERT. - Experience performing m…