Research Associate, Protein Biochemistry

A well-funded and highly innovative start up from Third Rock Ventures is emerging out of stealth with a syndicate of marquee investors and is seeking a talented Research Associate to join the Biologics-Protein Sciences team. The Research Associate will play a key role in early stages of pipeline program(s) focused on antibody-driven diseases. The role will work collaboratively with the Biology teams to characterize and select lead candidates. The Research Associate will also aid in the establishment of internal protein production and purification capabilities. The ideal candidate is an expert in protein expression in mammalian tissue culture systems with additional experience in protein purification.

Responsibilities :

• Establish and maintain in-house transient transfection platform (CHO and HEK) to support our discovery pipeline
• Generate stable cell lines for difficult to express protein constructs
• Carry out protein expression optimization experiments to improve expression titers
• Characterize proteins using standard lab techniques (SDS-PAGE, western blot, ELISA, etc)
• Support protein purification by FPLC (AKTA) or high/medium throughput purification formats
• Contribute critical thinking to protein engineering campaigns to iteratively improve target protein characteristics
• Maintain detailed protocols and entries in electronic lab notebook (ELN) according to company policy
• Adhere to LIMS/inventory management guidelines to ensure accurate storage and smooth hand offs to internal stakeholders

Required qualifications and experience:

• Master’s in relevant scientific area, such as biochemistry, cell biology, molecular biology with 0-3 years experience or BA/BS in a relevant scientific area with 2-5 years experience in relevant Academic/Biotech/Pharma role
• Extensive and demonstrable experience in mammalian cell culture and aseptic techniques, required
• Basic understanding of protein chromatography (affinity, SEC, IEX) with experience in protein purification and antibody biologics preferred
• Excellent communication, presentation, and inter-personal skills; superb organizational and problem-solving skills
• Capability to work within a dynamic matrix environment
• Strong eagerness to learn new aspects of biology/biochemistry and participate in the drug discovery process