Sr. Scientist, Synthetic Biology

​Sr. Scientist, Synthetic Biology:

We are a privately held, well-funded, clinical-stage Biotechnology company with a revolutionary technology in producing and delivering biologics in humans. Pioneering innovation in the biologics space, we are developing a diverse platform for various therapeutics including proteins, antibodies, peptides, cytokines, and vaccine allergens, targeting disease indications ranging from infectious to metabolic diseases. The company boasts of innovative leadership, strong academic and industry partnerships and a collaborative culture.

This position will work in the Synthetic Biology research team and be engaged in all of the company's pipeline therapeutics. The individual will be expected to perform a wide range of molecular biology techniques, lead bioinformatics efforts to discover and optimize therapeutic candidates, computational analysis of next-generation sequencing datasets, and lead adoption and implementation of increasingly high-throughput technologies. The position requires the ability to work as a team member and to assist other laboratory personnel as needed. The position requires strong organizational skills and meticulous laboratory record keeping. Effective communication skills are crucial in coordinating with research and production scientists, in providing status updates, and in raising quality or troubleshooting issues as they may arise.

Job Summary and Responsibilities:

The major tasks for this position are as follows:

Protein expression, biochemistry, and functional screening

• Development and selection of strategies to identify leads, protein variant library design, bioinformatic analyses of protein and nucleic acid databases including RNAseq

• Mammalian cell culture, protein expression in bacterial and mammalian platforms, functional assays of protein bioactivity, bacterial cell culture in a BSL-2 environment, aseptic technique, qPCR.

• Kinetic measurement of proteins interactions, SDS-PAGE, ELISA, high-throughput screening of binding proteins.

Next-generation DNA sequencing and analysis

• Design of Illumina-compatible DNA libraries, library preparation, quality control analysis, development of data analysis pipelines, mutational analysis of variant libraries.

Education and Experience:

Minimum requirements

• PhD degree in biochemistry, molecular biology, chemistry, or related field of study with five years’ experience working in a related field

Exceptional candidates will have extensive prior experience with one or more of the following:

• Analyzing large biological datasets in R, Python, or other programming languages

• High-throughput methods for selecting or mapping protein-protein interactions such as yeast two-hybrid, phage display, or continuous evolution methods (such as PACE)

• Familiarity with approaches to directed evolution of proteins, high-throughput mutational mapping methods, and state-the-art methods for improving developability or activity of proteins/enzymes.

• Performing cell-based and biochemical/immunochemical assays (ELISA, SDS-PAGE, western blot, etc.).

The successful candidate will have the following attributes:

• Strong attention to detail and organizational skills

• Engage with members of the team in experimental design, troubleshooting, data analysis, data interpretation.

• Work well independently and in collaboration across various teams in the organization.

• Self-starter, able to contribute effectively in a fast-changing environment

• The ability to work both independently and in a team-oriented environment

• High integrity and ethics

• Commitment to quality and timely delivery of results

• Maintain accurate and well-organized laboratory notebooks.

• Respect laboratory safety policies and practices Physical Requirements

• Sit for extended periods of time (2 or more hours)

• Occasionally lift or carry up to 20 kg

I manage a range of other permanent and contract positions for a broad portfolio of clients (Biotech, CRO and Pharma). If the above role isn’t for you but you’d nevertheless like to discuss your options in the market, I’d welcome a confidential discussion by phone or email. Contact Surbhi Dhar at +1 (619) 329 7878 or surbhi.dhar@rbwconsulting.com

Keywords

synthetic biology, directed evolution, yeast two hybrid, library design, NGS, bioinformatics, R, Python