Principal Scientist, Cell-Free Protein Synthesis

About Generate:Biomedicines

Generate:Biomedicines is a new kind of therapeutics company – existing at the intersection of machine learning, biological engineering, and medicine – pioneering Generative Biology™ to create breakthrough medicines where novel therapeutics are computationally generated, instead of being discovered. The Company has built a machine learning-powered biomedicines platform with the potential to generate new drugs across a wide range of biologic modalities. This platform represents a potentially fundamental shift in what is possible in the field of biotherapeutic development.

We pursue this audacious vision because we believe in the unique and revolutionary power of generative biology to radically transform the lives of billions, with an outsized opportunity for patients in need. We are seeking collaborative, relentless problem solvers that share our passion for impact to join us!

Generate:Biomedicines was founded in 2018 by Flagship Pioneering and has received nearly $700 million in funding, providing the resources to rapidly scale the organization. The Company has offices in Somerville and Andover, Massachusetts with over 300 employees.

The Role:

Generate:Biomedicines is seeking a highly creative and technologically curious Principal Scientist in Cell-free Protein Synthesis to be part of the CFPS group in our Innovation and Data Generation at Scale (IDGS) department. We believe innovations at the intersection of machine learning, computational protein design, and HTP experimentation will transform the ways that we bring new therapies to patients.

The Principal Scientist will contribute to efforts to expand our intrinsically scalable CFPS platform using synthetic biology, ML-guided optimization and strain engineering, with the aim of increasing throughput, and dramatically shortening design-build-test cycles of our therapeutic candidates. They will work to 1) further integrate CFPS technology into our HTP screening workflows at the intersection of synthetic biology, microfluidics, automation, and machine learning, 2) optimize and expand our CFPS workflows across modalities, and 3) work closely with our production scientists to design and implement productionized workflows.

The successful candidate has a proven track record of cross-disciplinary quantitative research, combining deep understanding of synthetic biology and high-throughput experimentation. Close collaboration with members from Generate’s Protein Science, Therapeutic Area Research, Computational, and Machine Learning teams will be crucial to produce game-changing novel CFPS workflows. This is an opportunity to perform highly innovative technology development, while being a part of the collaborative and premier scientific environment in a well-funded biotech startup.

Here's how you will contribute:

• Expand Generate’s efforts to integrate CFPS into our HTP screening and production workflows.
• Lead part of the team efforts to optimize CFPS workflows using both experimental tools (strain engineering, synthetic biology) and theory (computational analysis, statistics, and ML-guided optimization).
• Work together with members of the IDGS team to implement CFPS-based screening workflows involving micro-automation, microfluidics, and microfabricated devices.
• Work with production and analytics teams in the Protein Sciences department to optimize scaled-up workflows and implement characterization of CFPS-produced material.
• Generate bold, creative, unconventional ideas, and be a point person for intellectual property and patent writing.
• Strategic experiment planning, data interpretation, summarization, and presentation with minimum supervision are required.
• Involvement in accelerating the discovery, engineering and characterization of novel biologics in the pipeline programs.
• Mentor and train scientists throughout the company.

The Ideal Candidate will have:

• PhD/9+ years of experience or a MSc/16+ years of experience in a relevant science/engineering field (biophysics, biochemistry, physical chemistry, biological engineering, quantitative/synthetic biology, or related discipline). We would also consider top talent at the Senior Scientist II level with a PhD/7+ years or MSc/14+ years of related experience or a Senior Scientist with PhD/4+ years or MSc/16+ years of related experience.
• Demonstrated experience in implementation, analysis, and optimization of Cell-Free Protein Synthesis systems.
• Cross-functional experience in the protein therapeutics industry and engineering of therapeutic proteins are highly desired.
• Demonstrated experience in high-throughput experimental design.
• Demonstrated experience working with laboratory automation.
• Strong track record of critical thinking and scientific achievement as demonstrated by publications in highly regarded scientific journals
• Highly motivated, proactive and enthusiastic team player demonstrating flexibility and a sense of urgency
• Ability to multitask while paying attention to timeline and priorities and utilized resources efficiently
• Strong interpersonal skills including verbal and written communication to work effectively within a collaborative work environment
• Deep subject matter expertise and experience with in vitro display technologies is a plus
• Experience including advancing protein therapeutics through discovery and early development is a plus
• Experience with automated workflows and liquid handling robots is a plus
• Experience with data analysis in Python, Matlab, R or equivalent is a plus
• Experience securing intellectual property rights and patents is a plus

Who Will Love This Job:

• A rigorous individual with a curious mind and a love of learning who enjoys working in a fast-paced environment with a driven and collaborative team

Generate:Biomedicines is committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status.

COVID Safety:

Generate:Biomedicines enforces a mandatory vaccination policy for COVID-19. All employees must be fully vaccinated and have received a booster. The purpose of this policy is to safeguard the health of our employees, their families, and the community at large from infectious disease that may be reduced by vaccinations. The Company will make exceptions to this policy if required by applicable law and will consider requests for an exemption from this policy due to a medical reason, or because of a sincerely held religious belief, or any other exemptions that may be recognized by applicable.

Recruitment & Staffing Agencies : Generate:Biomedicines does not accept unsolicited resumes from any source other than candidates. The submission of unsolicited resumes by recruitment or staffing agencies to Generate:Biomedicines or its employees is strictly prohibited unless contacted directly by the Company’s internal Talent Acquisition team. Any resume submitted by an agency in the absence of a signed agreement will automatically become the property of Generate:Biomedicines and the Company will not owe any referral or other fees with respect thereto.

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