Insectary Technician
Insectary Technician
Posted on :
28-08-2025
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1 Vacancy
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Job Description
Ready to be the foundation of our innovation Were looking for a reliable and efficient technician to own the core processes of our insectary ensuring every scientific breakthrough starts with a perfectly managed fly population.
Changing the world - one fruit fly at a time.
Weve developed a novel insect-based expression platform that allows us to make the worlds most sustainable recombinant proteins.
Were unleashing the next biorevolution.
At Future Fields we are continually learning and evolving. We know we dont have all the answers but we try to ask all the questions. We believe in failing forward and leveraging our mistakes to help us grow. We never want our team to feel constrained by the status quo and we dont judge ideas based on where they come from. We actively work to foster a culture of collaboration innovation and psychological safety through transparency structure and open communication. We know it sounds cliche but every employee really is a valued and equal member of the Future Fields team.
Come find your purpose with Future Fields.
We are a rapidly growing venture backed startup (with support from awesome investors including Bee Partners Y Combinator BDC Climate Tech R7 Partners Toyota Ventures and Amplify Capital). Weve even had a shoutout from Ironman himself! Joining our team now means youll have the opportunity to shape our culture and products to lead others and to influence the direction of our company. Perhaps most importantly - youll be joining a team that is genuinely energized by this work and the meaningful potential of biotech to change the world.
About the role
The Insectary Technician plays a key role in supporting our most important asset - fruit flies! Yep you read that right. We farm fruit flies (in our super cool custom-built Insect Rearing Facility - Instar 1.0). This is a full-time salaried position with a 5-day work schedule (3 week days 2 weekend days).
The key function of this role is to ensure our insect rearing operation runs smoothly. This role provides many learning opportunities across a diverse set of areas and exposure to the inner workings of a scaling biotech company.
The Insectary Technician will work under the supervision of our Insectary Lead Kennedy and participate in collaborative discussions on many aspects of work being done at Future Fields.
This role will own:
The Insectary Technician is responsible for the day-to-day care of our fruit fly populations ensuring all tasks are executed according to protocols and timelines. This work is often time sensitive and requires speed and time management. Specific responsibilities include:
- Preparing fly media (from food grade ingredients). Experience in large-batch food preparation would be valuable but not necessary. This is a time sensitive task that requires preparing multiple components in parallel to ensure consistency in food quality.
- Washing dishes from fly media prep fly cages and all component parts. Requires the ability to adequately sanitize but also work at an expedient pace.
- Tracking all aspects of insect rearing in a database (cages fly strains population mass harvest mass etc.) This requires basic data entry skills and to be done in a time sensitive fashion in an organized manner to ensure fly strain integrity.
- Fly tipping and cage seeding. Everyday our flies need fresh food! This requires transferring the flies between cages which is a time sensitive process that requires maintaining cage organization and workflow
- Harvesting of biomass in a timely and consistent manner that conforms to best practices and protocols.
This role will assist by:
- Helping to maintain a safe sanitary and clean work environment at all times.
- Ensuring biomass inventory is up to date and organized.
- Monitoring supply of fly media ingredients to ensure an adequate stock of ingredients is always in hand.
- Monitoring and adjustment of cages for optimal breeding conditions.
This role requires strong multitasking abilities and a knack for prioritizing time-sensitive tasks. The most important attribute of this job is the ability to sequence multiple tasks in parallel as beginning one task requires successful completion of previous ones. The ability to work quickly and effectively is critical as well as collaborating well with teammates to divide and conquer daily workflows. Continuously maintaining meticulous attention to detail is a must.
About you
You find deep satisfaction in a perfectly executed workflow and thrive in a fast-paced environment where your focus and speed directly impact the teams success. Youre a master of multitasking able to juggle time-sensitive priorities without breaking a sweat and you understand that meticulous hands-on work is the foundation of groundbreaking science. Youre a reliable team player who enjoys being an essential part of a collaborative mission and are excited to learn the inner workings of a biotech company from the ground up.
Must haves
- Availability to work a full-time schedule that includes weekends (e.g. Wednesday-Sunday or Saturday-Wednesday).
- Demonstrated ability to multitask and manage time effectively especially in sequencing and executing parallel tasks.
- Exceptional attention to detail and the ability to follow detailed protocols with high precision.
- Proven ability to work quickly and efficiently in a physically active time-sensitive environment.
- Excellent communication and teamwork skills with a knack for collaborating to get the job done.
Bonus points
- Experience in the restaurant or food preparation industry
- Experience working with drosophila
- Knowledge of recombinant proteins
- Familiarity with SQL programming language
- A keen sense for engaging banter
- Knowledge of GMPs for food
Your future (with Future Fields)
Within 1 month you will:
- Master the Fundamentals: Complete all necessary training and demonstrate proficiency in the core insectary workflows including preparing fly media washing and sanitizing equipment and accurate data entry according to our established protocols.
- Integrate into the Workflow: Become a reliable part of the daily operational rhythm. Youll learn the time-sensitive nature of fly tipping cage seeding and biomass harvesting by working closely with the Insectary Lead and your team to ensure our flies are healthy and happy.
Within 3 months you will:
- Execute with Independence: Confidently manage the full cycle of daily insectary tasks with minimal supervision. You will have mastered the art of multitasking efficiently preparing media managing cage transfers and harvesting biomass in parallel to keep the operation running smoothly.
- Own Your Data: Take full responsibility for the accuracy and timeliness of all data tracking for your assigned tasks. Youll ensure that every cage strain and harvest is meticulously recorded maintaining the high level of integrity crucial to our research.
Within 6 months you will:
- Troubleshoot and Improve: Move beyond the daily checklist to anticipate the insectarys needs. You will proactively monitor supplies identify bottlenecks and begin to independently troubleshoot minor operational problems to keep workflows running smoothly.
- Take Ownership of Key Processes: Become a go-to team member for specific recurring insectary processes. You will take initiative to maintain and improve these areas ensuring the facility operates at the highest standard.
Within 1 year you will:
- Drive Initiatives: Act as a trusted driver for operational excellence. You will leverage your deep understanding to not only suggest but with guidance lead small initiatives to improve protocols making our processes faster easier or more consistent.
- Become a Team Pillar: Be an indispensable member of the insectary team capable of independently troubleshooting and resolving common operational issues. You will be a key contributor to training new technicians solidifying your role as a reliable pillar of our Insectary team.
About our team
Our story and approach to science is anything but conventional. Matt (co-founder/CEO) was a touring punk rock musician who dropped out of University before returning to complete his PhD in cell biology. Jalene (co-founder/COO) is a social researcher by training previously working on issues from the right to affordable housing to harm reduction. The spark of an idea for our technology came while waiting in line for tiny Canadian donuts. Our broader team of scientists engineers circus performers restaurateurs dancers music aficionados kid parents pet parents cyclists and artists hail from every corner of the world - from small town Alberta to Poland India Vietnam and Pakistan. We credit our diverse team and experiences as the key to our success - and we encourage candidates of all identities and backgrounds to apply.
FAQs
Where is Future Fields located
Our headquarters and production facility are located in downtown Edmonton Alberta in a renovated historic warehouse. From the exposed brick to our summer patio - its not your average lab space. It is central close to transit and bike lanes and walking distance to some of the citys best coffee shops restaurants and Edmontons incredible river valley.
I dont live in Edmonton. Why would I want to relocate there
Because its great! For starters Edmonton is one of Canadas sunniest cities with 2299 hours of bright sunshine per year. Its consistently ranked one of Canadas most affordable cities to live in and was recently described as Canadas most exciting culinary city. Theres a festival almost every weekend North Americas largest mall and the longest stretch of urban parkland on the continent (over 160km of trails!). Theres something for everyone in Edmonton and it will be even better with you in it.
Any other perks
Many! Some include: comprehensive health dental and vision benefits; flexible paid time off policy; and the office is always stocked with snacks and all the coffee you can drink.
Will I like working for a startup
Great question. Startup life is definitely not for everyone. We move quickly. Projects and priorities shift fast. There is a lot of ambiguity and uncertainty at times and were not immune to the growing pains of a rapidly scaling startup. The risk is high but so is the reward. We promise you will never get bored. You will have fun and learn a lot. You will grow personally and professionally in ways you never imagined (alongside our company). You will be part of something much bigger than yourself and contribute directly to the mission of a team who cares deeply about changing the world for the better. Oh and equity!
Sound like something you are interested in Here are the next steps:
Apply online using our job portal.
If it seems like a good fit next steps will look somewhat like this:
- We will contact you for a casual 30 minute video call.
- We will set up an interview to dive into your technical skills and motivation.
- Well arrange another interview to figure out how you fit with our team and culture and better understand your career trajectory.
- We will set up a coffee chat with you and a team member. This is your chance to dig in and find out what its really like to work for Future Fields. This is for you!
- We will speak with two of your references to confirm our assumption that you are in fact our next great hire.
- We offer you a job!
All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply; however candidates must be legally authorized to work in Canada. Please note that we are not able to provide visa sponsorship for this position at this time.
Required Experience:
IC
Employment Type
Full-Time
Key Skills
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