Perfusionist (Full-Time, Part-Time, or Job Share) - Standby, Stabilization & Transport (SST)
Organization: Resurgence Biomedical Sciences (RBS), Boynton Beach, Florida
Nonprofit
Employment Type: Full-time, part-time, or job share.
Rotating on-call Deployments across the United States and Canada
Group benefits included
Organization Overview
Resurgence Biomedical Sciences provides Standby, Stabilization, and Transport (SST) services for individuals who have elected biostasis, cryopreservation, or brain banking. We operate at the interface of emergency medicine, perioperative practice, perfusion science, and applied research. Our work is protocolized, data-driven, and ethically governed. All of it begins after legal pronouncement of death.
We refer to the people we serve as patients, which reflects how we treat them and how their families experience our work. In a research context they are more accurately described as donors. Both terms appear in our protocols and documentation.
We are a nonprofit funded to carry out research-driven protocols. This is a program you would help build, not a service you would staff.
A Note on Certification Before You Read Further
All of our donors are post-mortem and we provide no living patient care. Current active practice is not a prerequisite for this work.
We welcome applications from perfusionists who have retired or who hold inactive certification, provided they separated from practice in good standing. If you have stepped back from clinical volume but not from science, keep reading. This could be full-time, or part-time and job share. Credentialing review applies to every hire without exception.
Position Summary
This position, while full-time, on average will have you working part-time hours with coverage necessary for unexpected deployments.
You will perform and supervise perfusion during field cases, lead the development of our perfusion systems and protocols, and build perfusion competency across a multidisciplinary clinical team of nurses, paramedics, and other providers who are cross-trained in perfusion and surgical support.
Our protocols include Biostasis solutions called MHP-2 washout and VM-1 for cryoprotectant administration with refractive index endpoint monitoring, run on various platforms including roller pump and other dedicated cryoprotectant pump platforms. Circuits, solutions, and targets are revised as the research advances, so you will need to reason from physiology rather than from a setup you already know.
One of our open problems is determining internal donor temperature and other measurements where the staff perfusionist would lead. We need better ways to know, during a case and in the field, how completely and how quickly we have cooled the brain, cleared it, and perfused it. Current practice tells us a great deal about what is happening at the circuit and very little about what is happening in the tissues we care most about. We have cadaver lab and animal model access, a protocol library that is revised on evidence, and no attachment to doing it the way it has always been done.
You will deliver an orientation for new team members and contractors, then run training, education and competency sessions as requested. In addition, you would do curriculum development and produce clinical guidelines for donor patients.
This is not a hospital pump room position. Field perfusion may take place in a dedicated biostasis ambulance, a funeral home, or a partner research facility or other as needed. Biostasis Cases with donors are infrequent but technically demanding and cannot be repeated. Each donor is different. The work also includes protocol development, equipment engineering and development, documentation, and research support. This might be the most interesting job you will ever have.
Engagement Options
We are flexible on structure and will work with the right candidate to find the right fit.
- Full-time with group health, insurance, and 401k
- Part-time with prorated benefits
- Job share, in which perfusionists divide on-call coverage, case participation, and training responsibility between them
All travel expenses for deployments and for in-person training are reimbursed. There is flexibility to allow you to maintain limited per diem clinical shifts elsewhere for skill maintenance, and as a pay bump for you. The per diem shift should be local and per day vs a longer contract.
What We Pay, and What We Do Not
We should be straightforward about this.
We are a nonprofit research company, and our compensation is set by what a donor- supported research budget can sustain rather than what top industry perfusionist with overtime are paid. We are not competitive with high-volume OPO contract work, and we will not pretend otherwise. If you are at the stage of your career where you are pursuing top-dollar contracts, this is not the right role, and we would rather you know that in the first minute than in the third conversation.
That constraint is part of why our openness to retired perfusionists and those holding inactive certification is real rather than decorative. All of our work is post mortem. What we need is demonstrated skill and judgment.
What we offer in exchange is a salaried position with benefits, a small number of technically very interesting cases each year, no volume pressure, no productivity targets, and ownership of a discipline rather than a slot on a rotation. The flexible arrangements above exist for the same reason. For a perfusionist at the right point in their life, that is a good trade. For a perfusionist at a different point, it is not, and we understand.
Platform and Protocol Access
We run an online platform that hosts on-call availability scheduling, the training calendar, and our version-controlled protocol library. As a research organization, protocol revisions are published with their reasoning attached, and the team is notified when they change.
The staff perfusionist is a primary author of what lives in that library on the perfusion side.
Ethical and Professional Alignment
You have the chance to work in a field with tremendous potential to help humanity, in what may be one of the most future-impactful applications of perfusion science in medicine.
This role fits a perfusionist who acts as an assertive advocate for the patient when the patient can no longer speak for themselves. Everything we do happens after legal death, and the quality of the perfusion is often the difference between a preserved structure and a lost one. There is no second attempt.
Expect an initial shift in framework. The endpoints are not the endpoints you have worked toward for your entire career. Physiology behaves differently once the goal is preservation rather than support. Most perfusionists need some time and some reading to make that adjustment, and we plan for it. What we cannot teach is the willingness to work at a medical frontier where every action must be deliberate, recorded, and reproducible and can have significant future consequences for medicine and humanity.
You will work in complex settings, including private residences, small procedure rooms, cold and hot environments, and night deployments. You protect dignity, privacy, and chain of custody. You tolerate uncertainty without cutting corners. You invite rigorous QA, correct errors quickly, and treat each case as both patient care and evolving science.
What the Work Environment Looks Like
We operate as a high-trust, outcomes-based team. There is no time clock. Readiness, deployment standards, and deliverables drive the schedule. We expect self-direction, disciplined preparation, independent study, and transparent reporting. In return, you have real autonomy, flexible non-deployment time, and support to deepen your practice and knowledge.
Reading and studying should be a joy, not a chore. The reference literature in this field is substantial and still being written, and there is room for you to add to it.
What a Deployment Actually Looks Like
Read this section carefully. The rhythm of this work is unlike hospital or procurement scheduling.
- Our goal is to have the team in place 24 to 48 hours before arrest. Because death cannot be scheduled, deployments include standby time at a hotel near the recovery site. The waiting pattern is comparable to organ procurement.
- Once legal pronouncement occurs, the case itself typically runs 8 to 12 hours from pronouncement through completion. The remainder of a deployment is preparation, setup, and standby.
- Total deployment length is not predictable. Some deployments are short. Some involve several days of waiting followed by a demanding overnight case.
- Activations are frequently same day. You must be able to leave for the airport at short notice.
- Deployment days are not eight-hour shifts. A deployment day is a full day, with travel days in each direction as part of the deployment.
- Case volume averages roughly 10 cases per year but can be highly variable.
Core Responsibilities
Some of the protocol-specific skills below will be taught and drilled on the job.
Case Execution
- Perform and supervise perfusion during SST deployments, including MHP-2 washout and VM-1 cryoprotectant sequences and other research protocols.
- Prime, manage, and troubleshoot circuits under field conditions with limited backup
- Monitor and report inflow temperature, pressure, flow, and refractive index. Escalate deviations against pre-established assessment criteria
- Support surgical cannulation and coordinate closely with the surgeon on access, flow initiation, and endpoint decisions
- Manage device failure in the field as possible, without a backup pump room down the hall.
Systems and Engineering
- Lead equipment selection, modification, and engineering improvements
- Own circuit design, disposables standardization, and kit configuration for deployable use
- Lead development and validation of real-time monitoring methods for cerebral cooling rate, washout adequacy, and perfusion distribution
- Identify failure modes in field conditions and design them out
Training and Program Build
- Build the perfusion training curriculum and competency standards and guidelines for our clinical team and contract perfusionists
- Deliver orientation for new team members and contractors
- Run scheduled competency sessions, as planned, and assess against a standard
- Lead structured debriefs and contribute to SOPs, checklists, and protocol revision and development
Documentation, Quality, and Compliance
- Maintain documentation to research and quality oversight standards, including timelines, perfusate records, and other reports
- Support secure capture of data and live video overwatch
- Participate in audits and corrective actions
- Adhere to safety, privacy, ethical, and research governance requirements
Minimum Qualifications
- Board-certified (or former) perfusionist (ABCP) or Canadian equivalent certification, in good standing.
- Minimum five years of independent cardiopulmonary bypass experience
- Demonstrated competence with circuit design, hemodynamics, pressure and flow management, and device troubleshooting
- Comfortable working outside a traditional hospital environment without institutional support
- Comfortable teaching clinicians and non-perfusion specialists.
- Able to reach a major hub airport and deploy same day when called. South Florida is preferred for full-time candidates.
- Valid passport and ability to travel on short notice for multi-day deployments
- Physical capacity to move equipment and assist with donor positioning with team assistance
Preferred Qualifications
- ECMO experience, particularly independent circuit management outside the OR
- Experience with monitoring modalities such as near-infrared spectroscopy, Doppler, thermometry, or intraoperative imaging, or a record of developing measurement approaches of your own
- Study or applied interest in preservation physiology, cryobiology, or hypothermic circulatory management
- Research, QA, or device development background
- Preceptor, instructor, or program-build experience
- Experience with data loggers, secure documentation systems, and structured debrief processes
Retired and Formerly Certified Perfusionists
As noted above, current active practice is not a prerequisite. Retired perfusionists and those holding inactive certification are welcome to apply, provided they separated from practice in good standing. Credentialing review applies to every hire. A full time position is offered with significant flexibility.
Other options may include part-time or job share arrangement for clinicians stepping back from high clinical volume but not from science.
Professional Competencies and Attributes
- Technical judgment under time pressure
- Operational discipline and consistent use of checklists and verification steps
- Clear communication with families, partner organizations, and internal teams
- Ethics (very important) and discretion in all interactions
- Instruction and mentorship that raise team standards
- Continuous learning, including self-directed study of biostasis protocols and updates
Working Conditions
- Rotating on-call with defined response windows. Irregular hours, nights, weekends, and holidays as required. Irregular hours are infrequent but might occur.
- Work settings include private residences, hospitals, funeral homes, and partner facilities. Expect prolonged PPE use and potentially cold environments.
- Travel throughout the United States and Canada. International travel might be requested for special but rare circumstances. All deployment and training travel expenses are reimbursed.
- Extended standby periods at hotels near the recovery site.
- Between cases, opportunity to maintain clinical currency and earn additional money through approved per-diem shifts if currently certified.
Performance Indicators
- Protocol adherence for perfusion initiation, pressure and flow targets, and endpoint determination
- Documentation completeness and on-time data submission
- Readiness compliance and documented equipment checks
- Team competency gains measured against standard, and debrief actions closed
- Equipment, circuit, or SOP improvements delivered
- Professional feedback from families, partners, and internal QA
Application Instructions
Submit the following to [email protected] with the subject line Application - Perfusionist (Staff):
- Curriculum vitae
- Current or most recent certification and licensure documentation
- Cover letter
Your cover letter should address:
- Why this field interests you
- Whether you are seeking full-time, part-time, or job share, and what schedule would work for you
- How you approach patient advocacy after legal death, including dignity and chain of custody
- How you approach learning an unfamiliar framework and what your self-directed study looks like
- An example of diagnosing and correcting a circuit or device problem in an uncontrolled setting
- Any ideas you have about how to measure, during a case, whether cooling and perfusion of the brain are working
- Your availability for short-notice deployment and your proximity to a major hub airport
RBS is an equal opportunity organization. Qualified applicants from all backgrounds are encouraged to apply.
Pay: $110,000.00 - $150,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- 401(k) matching
- Dental insurance
- Employee assistance program
- Employee discount
- Flexible schedule
- Flexible spending account
- Health insurance
- Health savings account
- Life insurance
- Professional development assistance
- Retirement plan
- Vision insurance
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Boynton Beach, FL 33426
