Scientist - Flow Cytometry and Protein Engineering

Stealth-mode biotech in Cambridge founded by a blue-chip investor is seeking a creative, talented, and quick-learning bench scientist to join our protein engineering team. The ideal candidate will play a key role in advancing our platforms for the discovery, engineering, and characterization of therapeutic antibodies.

We are looking for individuals with a proven ability to solve complex problems creatively, expertise in designing, executing, and analyzing advanced protein engineering experiments, and strong communication skills demonstrated through publications and presentations. Expertise in flow cytometry and protein structural analysis is required. Experience with antibody/protein display technologies, expression, engineering, and analysis is preferred.

Responsibilities:

• Contribute internal efforts to advance and refine protein discovery and engineering platforms.
• Work closely with the immunology team to discover, engineer, and validate therapeutic proteins.
• Stay informed on emerging techniques and technologies in the field of protein biologics.
• Actively contribute to scientific discussions across the company, offering innovative ideas and insights.
• Collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams to ensure timely and high-quality project outcomes.
• Organize experiments and results in the Electronic Lab Notebook (ELN).
• Summarize key findings and present them clearly to both internal teams and external stakeholders.

Qualifications

Education:

• Minimum of Ph. D. in antibody discovery, biochemistry, biophysics, or structural immunology

Experience and Skills:

Required:

• Extensive knowledge and proven experience in antibody discovery, engineering, and design is essential.
• Strong proficiency in biophysical and biochemical techniques for protein analysis, including ELISA, anSEC, HIC, SPR, BLI, thermal stability analysis, and protein expression/purification from both mammalian and bacterial cells.
• In-depth expertise in molecular biology, encompassing expression vector design, sequence analysis, protein expression in mammalian cells, and purification techniques (e.g., affinity chromatography, ion-exchange chromatography) is necessary.
• Advanced proficiency in multi-color flow cytometry and associated techniques.
• Experience with antibody or protein developability assessment.
• A passion for tackling complex scientific challenges with creativity and a collaborative mindset, along with the ability to lead by influence and communicate effectively across diverse teams.
• Proven ability to communicate clearly and concisely, demonstrated through peer reviewed publications.

Preferred:

• At least 1 year of industry experience for Ph.D. holders
• Preferred candidates will have a strong understanding of antibody sequence analysis, including insights into post-translational modifications, germline analysis, and Fc-mediated effector functions.
• Experience with advanced molecular biology and protein engineering techniques, especially in antibody and cytokine development.
• A solid understanding of antibody and cytokine structure and function, including the modulation of target binding and Fc-based effector functions, is desirable.
• Expertise in protein structure modeling and analysis using tools such as Schrodinger, MOE, PyMOL, or Chimera.
• Practical experience with high-throughput binding assays (e.g., ELISA, SPR, MSD) and/or cell-based assays (e.g., Intellicyt/iQue) for screening antibody variants.