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Senior Scientist, Molecular Engineering

Palo Alto, CA

About the position

We are seeking a highly skilled and motivated Senior Scientist with a strong background in high throughput molecular biology and genome engineering to join the Molecular Engineering team inside the Genome Engineering Technology Center at the Arc Institute. This position will build cutting edge technologies and infrastructure for high-throughput molecular engineering of effector systems, cells, and complex organoid models. You will have the opportunity to partner closely with pioneering labs that have developed the fundamental toolbox for genome engineering and functional genomics screens, such as CRISPR nucleases, CRISPRi, CRISPRoff, CRISPRa, and serine or bridge recombinases. Additionally, you will play a critical role in the Institute’s Alzheimer’s Disease Initiative, which aims to identify and drug rational therapeutic targets for devastating neurodegenerative disorders.

The successful candidate will lead projects focused on the build and improvement of molecular tools and engineered viruses to enable the arrayed and pooled genetic perturbations of human pluripotent stem cells for disease modeling, ultimately facilitating the identification of potential therapeutic targets and driving innovation in the field. Additionally, the candidate will have opportunities to leverage expertise in pooled and/or arrayed screening, protein engineering, and/or synthetic biology in mammalian cells to design and lead collaborative complex cloning, cell line development, and directed evolution projects for a wide variety of scientific projects across Arc’s labs.

About you 

  • You are passionate about science and excited about answering questions related to molecular design, genome engineering technology development, and complex human diseases.
  • You are creative and are excited to try new ways of tackling problems beyond the technique/approaches you are familiar with.
  • You understand the importance of collaboration and thrive when working with a diverse team of scientists.
  • You have a deep commitment to data quality while working in a fast-paced environment.
  • You are excited to develop new molecular tools to answer complex questions
  • Your organizational skills enable you to manage multiple concurrent projects, and your curiosity and creativity drive you to continuous learning and innovation.

In this position you will

  • Establish scalable workflows for executing on Arc’s Alzheimer’s Disease Initiative (high throughput cloning, lentiviral production, and cell line engineering) and other technology development projects (novel effector systems, multiplexed perturbations, new delivery technologies).
  • Build a center of excellence  (plasmids, mRNA, lentivirus, LNPs, etc.) to enable arrayed genetic perturbations in hPSC-derived cells.
  • Collaborate with cross-functional teams at Arc to integrate molecular design and engineering seamlessly with downstream applications.
  • Embrace the opportunity to creatively collaborate with core labs on ad hoc early research projects.
  • Apply lab automation experience to help streamline, optimize, and track workflows.
  • Stay updated on the latest developments in the fields of gene and molecular engineering, actively seeking out opportunities for innovation.
  • Maintain accurate and detailed records of experimental protocols, results, and conclusions.
  • Provide mentorship and guidance to research associates within the team.

Requirements

  • Ph.D. in Molecular Biology, Bioengineering, Biochemistry, Genetics or a related field with a minimum of 5+ years of postdoctoral experience in academia and/or industry.
  • Experience with mammalian cell culture, cell line engineering, and associated construct design and cloning techniques. 
  • Experience and knowledge of techniques for the routine characterization of genetically modified cells such as flow cytometry, qPCR, western blotting, or NGS. 
  • Experience with CRISPR-Cas9 or other genome editing or perturbation techniques.
  • Troubleshooting experience and skill in comparing, optimizing, validating and automating protocols.
  • Hands-on experience with automation and linking/tracking associated processes and materials within a LIMS system. 
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
  • Demonstrated ability to work both independently and in a highly collaborative multidisciplinary environment.
  • Strong project management skills with the ability to plan, execute, and deliver results on time.

Preferred Qualifications:

  • Protein engineering experience, particularly for improving the activity and specificity of gene editing systems. 
  • Experience with high-throughput screening methodologies and applications in mammalian cells.
  • Experience designing and cloning pooled or large arrayed libraries for genetic and/or protein engineering screens. 
  • Familiarity with techniques for stem cell and progenitor cell culturing and genetic manipulation. 
  • Ability to analyze large and complex data sets using Python, R, or similar tools.

The base salary range for this position is $131,750 to $162,750. These amounts reflect the range of base salary that the Institute reasonably would expect to pay a new hire or internal candidate for this position. The actual base compensation paid to any individual for this position may vary depending on factors such as experience, market conditions, education/training, skill level, and whether the compensation is internally equitable, and does not include bonuses, commissions, differential pay, other forms of compensation, or benefits. This position is also eligible to receive an annual discretionary bonus, with the amount dependent on individual and institute performance factors.

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