Sr. Staff Scientist - Protein Sciences R&D

USA - South San Francisco, CA

Sr. Staff Scientist - Protein Sciences R&D  (Onsite in South San Francisco, CA)

Summary

Twist is searching for an exceptional R&D scientist with experience in cell biology and protein expression and purification, with an emphasis on antibodies, to lead and enhance our protein sciences capabilities. 

We're looking for a curious, technically deep, and driven scientist who can operate as both a hands-on bench scientist and a builder of people and process. You will start as an individual contributor, personally executing and improving core workflows, while simultaneously defining the technical roadmap. As the team grows, you will continue to spend meaningful time at the bench and on experimental design. We are looking for people who have deep technical knowledge and a strong drive to get things done. 

Job title and compensation will be determined based on several factors, including, but not limited to, the candidate's years of experience, skills, knowledge, and abilities.

Key Responsibilities:

  • Develop small- and medium-scale antibody production workflows, including various formats (single-chain, IgG, multi-specific), culture systems, and purification methods
  • Improve all aspects of the end-to-end antibody development workflow: construct design, cell line development, cell culture, purification, and analytics
  • Build from the ground up and manage a team of scientists and RAs that will aid you in your work 
  • Independently design and execute experiments, and analyze experimental data
  • Move projects forward efficiently / manage time and resources effectively / prioritize tasks in accordance with the company’s goals
  • Document and communicate results clearly and succinctly
  • Be helpful/collaborative/proactive
  • Stay up to date with new developments, companies, and technologies
  • Be the ultimate subject matter expert, and understand all aspects of your work as profoundly as possible, including details that are adjacent to your projects

What You’ll Bring to the Team:

  • Deep hands-on experience designing, expressing, and optimizing monoclonal antibodies, with demonstrated understanding of Fc structure–function relationships (effector function, stability, manufacturability).
  • Proven experience with bispecific antibody architectures, including but not limited to:
    • Knob-in-hole, CrossMab, common light chain, or similar
    • Chain pairing control and mispairing mitigation
  • Hands-on experience with antibody characterization methods, such as:
    • SEC, CE-SDS
    • Binding kinetics (BLI or SPR)
    • Basic biophysical profiling (DSF, DLS)
  • Demonstrated ability to build, improve, and standardize antibody generation workflows, not just execute existing SOPs.
  • Strong mechanistic understanding of antibody biology, structure, and expression bottlenecks
  • A track record of successful and creative method development
  • Travel 10% of time to Portland, OR 

Nice to have:

  • Strong understanding of transient vs stable expression tradeoffs and when to deploy each during platform development.
  • Experience improving expression yields and product quality through sequence, vector, and host engineering.
  • Experience developing high-throughput or semi-automated workflows for expression, purification, and screening.
  • Strong understanding of platform robustness, reproducibility, and cost drivers.
  • Experience generating and optimizing stable mammalian cell lines (CHO preferred):
    • Vector design, promoter/selection strategies
    • Clone screening, productivity optimization, and stability assessment
  • Experience designing platforms that support multiple antibody modalities (mAbs, bispecifics, Fc-engineered variants) 

 Qualifications:

  1. PhD in Cell Biology, Biochemistry, or a closely related field
  2. 8+ years of experience in protein sciences 
  3. Hands-on experience working with antibody expression and purification
  4. Experience with liquid-handling systems and automation is a plus
  5. Familiarity with Python or equivalent programming languages is a plus

 

About Twist Bioscience

Twist Bioscience synthesizes genes from scratch, known as “writing” DNA. Just as children learn to both read and write, the next phase of development for the genomics revolution is the ability to write DNA.

At Twist Bioscience, we work in service of people who are changing the world for the better. In fields such as health care, agriculture, industrial chemicals and data storage, our unique silicon-based DNA Synthesis Platform provides precision at a scale that is otherwise unavailable to our customers.

Twist Bioscience Corporation is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Twist Bioscience Corporation provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, genetic characteristics, or any other category protected by law.

The base cash compensation for this California-based role is below. In addition to base salary, this role is eligible for bonus, equity, and a generous benefits package. Final compensation amounts are determined by multiple factors, including candidate skill, experience, expertise, and location and may vary from the amount listed above. Compensation may be different in other locations.

San Francisco Bay Area Pay Range

$180,000 - $232,000 USD

Create a Job Alert

Interested in building your career at Twist Bioscience? Get future opportunities sent straight to your email.

Apply for this job

*

indicates a required field

Resume/CV*

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Cover Letter

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in Twist Bioscience’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

Select...
Select...
Race & Ethnicity Definitions

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

Select...