What are the responsibilities and job description for the Senior/Principal Scientist, Protein Engineering position at Skyhook?
About Skyhook Bio:
Skyhook accelerates the discovery and development of differentiated therapeutics by accessing vast biological design spaces previously intractable with current state of the art technologies. Our differentiated platform employs efficient AI-guided design, synthesis, and functional screening of diverse programmable biomolecule libraries at unprecedented speed and scale.
About the Role:
We are seeking an innovative, self-motivated, and team-oriented Senior/Principal Scientist to join our growing Protein Engineering team. This individual will have a passion for developing assays to drive the interrogation of protein libraries using a variety of biochemical, cellular, and molecular techniques. The role will help lead the team by executing, analyzing, and presenting experiments to drive platform activities and improvements. They will lead from the bench, working closely with our cross-functional teams as a key contributor to our R&D programs. As a member of a growing and engaged team, this scientist will have the opportunity to take part in leading innovative research and development, and work with a highly skilled multidisciplinary team in a fast-paced startup environment.
\n- Lead the strategic planning, design, and execution for protein engineering projects,
- Design, construct, and validate protein variant libraries using our internal synthesis and testing platform,
- Collaborate with AI/ML scientists to develop novel constructs and assays to explore diverse functionalities using molecular methods,
- Conduct and support biomolecular experiments with high precision and reliability,
- Manage cross-functional projects and external collaborations through data generation, analysis, interpretation, and presentation,
- Mentor junior lab members to help develop their scientific and professional growth,
- Use literature searches, follow Standard Operating Protocols, and generate new ones when necessary to devise cutting edge techniques and approaches, and
- Use experimental and scientific insights to devise and collaborate on the writing of patents and scientific publications.
- A PhD in Biochemistry, Biological/Chemical Engineering, Microbiology, Biology with 5 years of laboratory experience or a Master’s degree in a related field with 10 years of laboratory experience,
- Titling will be commensurate with experience.
- Expertise in biochemistry, enzyme/protein characterization (e.g., assay development, kinetics, library designs, substrate profiling),
- Proficient in common molecular cloning techniques and sequencing (E.g., DNA/RNA isolation, PCR, qPCR, NGS library generation),
- Some familiarity with binder engineering (affinity/specificity), selection, and characterization,
- Experience managing project teams, junior scientists, and researcher associates,
- Strong analytical skills, detail-oriented, and thrives in a fast-paced startup environment,
- Excellent communication skills (written and verbal) and adept at building strong relationships across teams,
- Highly adaptable, able to work both independently and collaboratively, and
- Self-motivated, proactive, and collaborative approach; driven to achieve scientific and business objectives.
We kindly ask that recruiting agencies and third-party recruiters do not contact us regarding this position. We are not seeking assistance or accepting unsolicited resumes from agencies at this time.
About Raven:
Raven is RA Capital’s healthcare incubator. From discovery to delivery, whether Raven incubates, accelerates or rejuvenates, Raven’s goal is to turn scientific breakthroughs into transformative therapies and get them quickly, safely and efficiently to the patients that need them most. Raven’s experienced scientists, operators, and healthcare innovators have deep sector expertise across therapeutics, diagnostics, devices and services. They have brought hundreds of therapeutics into development, managed hospital systems, optimized clinical trials and navigated payor and regulatory systems to deliver patient impact - and they are ready to work with you.
About RA Capital:
Founded in 2004, RA Capital Management is a multi-stage investment manager dedicated to evidence-based investing in public and private healthcare, life sciences, and planetary health companies. RA Capital creates and funds innovative companies, from private seed rounds to public follow-on financings, allowing management teams to drive value creation from inception through commercialization and beyond. RA Capital's knowledge engine is guided by our Tech Atlas internal research division, and Raven, RA Capital’s company building team, offers entrepreneurs and innovators a collaborative and comprehensive platform to explore the novel and the re-imagined. RA Capital has more than 150 employees and over $10 billion in assets under management.