The Staff Scientist (Scientist 3), Protein Chemistry role will report to the Director of Biochemistry. They will join our team and help in the production of biochemically modified synthetic cells for the development of both custom and/or catalog products. They will also facilitate the transfer of our products from R&D to process development and manufacturing. To be successful, the Staff Scientist, Protein Chemistry will need experience in protein conjugation, working with various types of bioconjugation chemistries and understanding of both biochemistry and how to handle proteins. Familiarity with flow cytometry is preferred for product QC. This role will be a management and leadership position, and the candidates should have experience with managing direct reports, and be excited about bringing innovation and new ideas to the team. Experience working on protein expression and purification is nice to have. The Staff Scientist, Protein Chemistry should be comfortable writing technical reports and analyses of findings, with the goal of leading development projects and reporting and presenting results clearly to management. This position will be on-site in Emeryville, CA. We are a small but growing team, and the applicant must be comfortable in a dynamic, fast-paced environment. Self-motivated and driven applicants of all experience levels are encouraged to apply.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to R&D efforts in the biochemistry group, with a focus on catalog and/or custom product development:
• Protein conjugation related product development work
• Development of conjugation chemistries 
• Employ bioconjugation techniques for the production of customized synthetic cell mimics with various biomolecules of interest
• Antibody panel design for Flow Cytometry based assays 
• Flow cytometry assays on different convention and spectral flow cytometry instrumentation
• Employ bioconjugation techniques to various biomarkers of interest for the development of synthetic cells and suggest new ideas to improve ongoing conjugation work.
• Know how to do deep dives of literature to determine the best experimental plans based on precedent, and independently drive projects.
• Help develop and test new products addressing customer needs in the cell therapy and diagnostics space, and represent the biochemistry team at the project meetings.
• Designing experiments to pressure test protocols to ensure their robustness. Diligent and detailed record keeping of experimental protocols.
• Transfer protocols and SOPs to the process development and manufacturing groups as needed
• Work in the lab on independent projects, and manage a direct report who will support those projects
• Lead projects and drive innovation
• Train direct reports and other groups on established protocols
• Mentor direct reports and oversee their professional development
• Work with direct reports to assign projects, plan their experiments and support troubleshooting while working on your own research projects 
• Nice to have: 
• Understanding of relevant steps of gene-to- protein process, including construct design, molecular cloning, protein expression, purification, and characterization (bacterial and/or mammalian systems)
• 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)

Requirements

• Ph.D. in a relevant field with 6-8 years of industry experience, or equivalent 
• Background in biochemistry, protein chemistry, chemical biology, molecular biology, or an equivalent field
• Experience with management and mentorship while also working on their own experimental projects
• Experience with conjugation chemistry
• Experience with flow cytometry 
• Experience with protein purification and basic molecular biology is nice to have
• Able to multitask, prioritize and manage time effectively.
• Strong communication and presentation skills