Technical Associate, Annotation and Proofreading

About the Role

This is a hands-on role focused on checking and correcting automated reconstructions. Your annotations will serve as the ground truth for training and measuring models.

Key Responsibilities

• Annotate and proofread 3D microscopy volumes of brain tissue, including:
• Tracing neurons.
• Marking synapses and other structures.
• Fixing errors from automated segmentation.
• Write and maintain annotation protocols, including examples of challenging cases.
• Implement quality control measures, such as reviewing annotations and measuring annotator agreement.
• Maintain gold-standard datasets for training and verification.
• Track throughput and error rates, using basic statistics to report on time allocation and quality variations.
• Provide feedback to tool and model teams regarding annotation bottlenecks and common model errors.
• Document and systematically analyze problems to develop and refine working protocols.
• Share protocols and reasoning behind decisions.
• As the team grows, you will:
• Train and onboard new annotators.
• Assign and review annotator work.
• Assist in recruitment efforts.
• Potentially lead an annotation team, managing work assignments and tracking quality/throughput.

Requirements & Tech Stack

• B.S. or B.A. in neuroscience, biology, biomedical engineering, computer science, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• Direct hands-on experience with careful visual work on images or data, such as image annotation, histology, microscopy, or data labeling.
• Ability to apply a written protocol consistently and report deviations.
• Basic quantitative skills: spreadsheets, simple statistics, and chart interpretation.
• Excellent attention to detail and scientific rigor.
• Comfort learning new software and working in 3D image viewers.
• Strong detail orientation, exceptional organizational, planning, interpersonal, and communication skills.
• Ability to write clearly, work independently, lead and manage, and prioritize/multitask.
• Self-motivation, commitment to high quality standards, and a service-oriented mindset.
• Good judgment, balancing flexibility and focus, action and planning, speed and thoughtfulness.
• Openness to giving and receiving feedback constructively.
• This is an in-person job.
• Flexible hours may be required at times.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with neuron tracing, connectomics proofreading, or volumetric annotation tools (e.g., Neuroglancer, CAVE, webKnossos, VAST, Dragonfly).
• Knowledge of neuroanatomy or cell biology.
• Experience training others, writing protocols, and leading a small team.
• Basic scripting or data analysis (e.g., Python, R).
• Experience with quality-control methods like inter-rater agreement or gold-standard review.