Associate Director, Protein Engineering

Arbor Biotechnologies • Cambridge, MA

8h • $178,000 - $192,000

About The Position

We are seeking an Associate Director to lead our protein engineering team to maximize the efficacy of our cutting-edge genome editing tools. This role is ideal for someone who thrives in a team environment, is highly organized, and loves tackling challenging scientific problems to enable new types of treatments. You will be in a critical role centralizing our protein engineering efforts, proposing new engineering strategies, managing multiple engineering campaigns, and communicating across multiple functions within R&D.

Requirements

• PhD in Molecular Biology, Chemical Biology, Chemical Engineering or related discipline with 8+ years of relevant experience in protein engineering
• 4+ years of experience engineering nucleic acid binding proteins (CRISPR nucleases, polymerases, recombinases, transcription factors, etc.)
• Demonstrated experience building and leading high-performing scientific teams, including direct management and mentorship of scientists engaged in protein engineering and screening.
• Demonstrated ability to characterize protein properties (expression, stability, etc.) and use to forward engineering campaigns
• Familiarity with a broad array of gene editing technologies and the CRISPR landscape
• Familiarity with NGS sequencing (Illumina, Nanopore, PacBio)
• Experience with tissue culture and transfection

Nice To Haves

• Experience with LNP delivery or AAV packaging is a plus

Responsibilities

• Lead the protein engineering strategy and team responsible for advancing Arbor’s CRISPR-based gene editing technologies, establishing the roadmap for enzyme optimization through mutagenesis, screening, and next-generation engineering approaches.
• Drive protein engineering initiatives to improve enzyme activity and performance across diverse editing contexts, prioritizing approaches that support the advancement of Arbor’s therapeutic pipeline.
• Partner with cross functional leadership to align protein engineering priorities with platform and therapeutic program needs, including advancing compact RT editors and extended RT write capabilities.
• Establish frameworks for evaluating and prioritizing engineered variants across campaigns, guiding the selection of candidates for downstream validation and translational development.
• Lead cross-functional efforts to advance optimized variants into translational contexts.
• Build and scale Arbor’s protein engineering capabilities by mentoring and developing scientists while establishing best practices for mutagenesis, screening, and variant characterization
• Contribute to the long-term evolution of Arbor’s gene editing platform, identifying new engineering approaches and technologies that expand editing performance and therapeutic applicability.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree