The Staff Scientist (Scientist 3), Protein Chemistry will help develop our protein expression platforms. They will be responsible for the production of proteins, from gene design to expression and purification, with particular focus on mammalian expression systems. They will work with a team to build robust and reliable protein expression and purification processes. In addition, they will be responsible for the production of biochemically modified synthetic cells for the development of custom products and catalog products. To be successful, the Staff Scientist, Protein Chemistry will need experience in biochemistry, construct design, cloning, protein expression, and purification, with a focus on mammalian cell systems. Experience working with Bacterial Cell Systems are a nice to have. Conjugation chemistry as well as experience with antibody staining and flow cytometry are nice to have. The Staff Scientist, Protein Chemistry should have management and/or mentorship experience, and be comfortable writing technical reports and analyses of findings, with the goal of reporting and presenting results clearly to management. This role reports to the Director, Biochemistry. This position will be on-site in Emeryville, CA.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to R&D efforts in the biochemistry group, with a focus on:
• Protein expression (mammalian systems required, bacterial systems are nice-to-have)
• Expertise in all relevant steps of gene-to-mammalian protein process, including construct design, molecular cloning, protein expression, purification, and characterization, as well as troubleshooting experience in these areas.
• Experience in developing and optimizing purification protocols for different recombinant proteins (with and without affinity tags) using various chromatographic methods (affinity, IEX, SEC, etc) and purification systems (e.g., AKTA)
• Experience with high throughput and scale up protein expression and purification.
• Ability to conduct frequent literature searches for protein expression. Know how to do deep dives of literature to determine the best experimental plans based on precedent.
• Additional skills: 
• Employ bioconjugation techniques to various biomarkers of interest for the development of synthetic cells and suggest new ideas to improve ongoing conjugation work.
• Flow cytometry assays on different conventional and spectral flow cytometers
• Transfer protocols and SOPs to the tech transfer and manufacturing groups
• Contribute independent experimental ideas based on project needs.
• Help develop and test new products addressing customer needs in the cell therapy and diagnostics space.
• Diligent and detailed record keeping of experimental protocols.
• Designing experiments to pressure test protocols to ensure their robustness and keep detailed records
• Train direct reports and other groups on established protocols
• Mentor direct reports and oversee their professional development.

Requirements

• Ph.D. in a relevant field with 5 years of industry experience, or equivalent 
• Background in biochemistry, protein chemistry, chemical biology, molecular biology, or an equivalent field
• 2 years management and/or mentorship experience, while also working on their own experimental projects
• Experience with mammalian expression systems. 
• Able to multitask, prioritize and manage time effectively.
• Strong communication and presentation skills

Nice to have but not required

• Experience with conjugation chemistry is a plus
• Experience with flow cytometry is a plus 
• Experience with bacterial protein expression systems is preferred. 
• Experience with protein purification and basic molecular biology