Senior Scientist – Protein Design

AstraZeneca • Seattle, WA

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

Here at AstraZeneca you’ll have the opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives every day. As one of the world’s premier biotechnology companies, our mission is centered on delivering life-changing products that advance world health and help fight and cure disease. As a Senior Scientist in the Early Vaccines and Immune Therapies Unit (Early V&I) in Seattle, WA, you’ll play a pivotal role in channeling our scientific capabilities to make a positive impact on changing patients’ lives.
The Early V&I team at AstraZeneca is discovering and developing novel vaccines and biologics targeting key viral pathogens. We are consistently pushing the boundaries of science to deliver life-changing medicines to patients. Our deep expertise in virology, bacteriology, immunology, and vaccines enables our ability to advance novel therapeutic approaches and technologies to prevent and treat infectious disease. We have an industry-leading pipeline and offer a unique and strong collaborative network as part of the AstraZeneca family.
Currently, we are seeking a highly motivated and broadly skilled scientist with scientific and technical expertise in machine learning based computational protein design and structural biology demonstrating a track record of scientific achievement to join the group at AstraZeneca in Seattle, WA. The Senior Scientist will be a key member of a growing, dynamic team focused on developing next-generation vaccines and antibody therapeutics through the implementation of protein design in the drug discovery process. The position requires a strong interest in computational protein design work driving projects forward. AstraZeneca has a dynamic environment that fosters collaboration and innovation as we look to attract and develop top talent.

Requirements

• B.S. in Computational Biology, Bioengineering, Computer Science, Biophysics, Structural Biology or related scientific discipline with 7+ years of relevant experience or
• M.S. in Computational Biology, Bioengineering, Computer Science, Biophysics, Structural Biology or related scientific discipline with 5+ years of relevant experience or
• Ph.D. in Computational Biology, Bioengineering, Computer Science, Biophysics, Structural Biology, or related scientific discipline with 3+ years of relevant experience.
• Broad experience required in machine learning, structural biology, and/or biochemistry techniques:
• Up-to-date hands-on experience with state-of-the art computational protein design methods
• Proficiency with deep learning for proteins (e.g., protein language models, diffusion/generative models, supervised learning for property prediction)
• Hands-on experience with structure prediction and design (e.g., AlphaFold/ColabFold, Rosetta, ProteinMPNN, RFdiffusion), docking, and enhanced sampling
• Extensive hands-on experience with the design, engineering, production, and characterization of protein antigens and/or other complex proteins
• Extensive knowledge of protein structure and structural biology, including model building, analysis, and structure determination techniques such as X-ray crystallography and cryo-EM
• Experience with protein biochemistry techniques such as mammalian or bacterial recombinant protein expression, protein purification; and characterization techniques like UV-Vis spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, SEC-MALS, nanoDSF, etc.
• Experience with molecular biology techniques such as gene synthesis, PCR, cloning, etc.
• Strong Python experience; software engineering practices (version control, testing, code review); data management and shared compute resource usage
• Strong interpersonal and collaborative skills together with evidence of having used these to support problem solving and delivery in a team-oriented, collaborative environment
• Ability to work in a collaborative, fast-paced environment while planning and meeting timelines
• Proven track record of success in your research and experience preparing written scientific reports (e.g. manuscripts) and oral presentations (e.g. slides, posters)
• Ability to multitask and prioritize numerous different projects
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Must be able to understand, conduct, and interpret results of technically challenging experiments with minimal supervision

Nice To Haves

• Experience in training novel models for protein design and/or modeling is a plus
• Experience with drafting patents for protein-based inventions is a plus

Responsibilities

• Perform a range of computational experiments to design and generate novel protein antigens, immunogens, binders, and antibodies that elicit prophylactic immunity or provide therapeutic benefit against clinically relevant pathogens
• Develop, validate, and maintain novel computational pipelines based on various protein structure software (e.g., deep learning, generative models, structure prediction, docking, and molecular simulation) for protein antigen, binder and antibody design
• Contribute to new concepts and methodologies in antigen design, protein nanoparticle scaffolding, multivalent display, epitope focusing, and other emerging vaccine technology modalities
• Leverage structural biology (e.g., AlphaFold, Rosetta, experimental-derived models), large-scale sequence datasets, and literature to guide design hypotheses and perform in silico experiments
• Work collaboratively with colleagues across the organization to translate computational designs into testable constructs and drive projects to successful completion
• Make detailed observations, perform quantitative analyses, interpret results independently, and propose next-step experiments or model refinements based on in silico and in vitro readouts
• Scout, evaluate, and integrate new algorithms, tools, and frameworks (e.g., protein language models, diffusion models, active learning) to improve design success rates and reduce cycle time
• Preparation of precise technical summaries, protocols, quantitative analyses, and maintenance of appropriate documentation
• Contribute to intellectual property by drafting invention disclosures and working with legal teams on patents related to computational design methods and novel constructs
• Optimize use of compute resources
• Oversee the day-to-day organization of different project-related components
• Publishing of discoveries in high quality, peer-reviewed journals

Benefits

• qualified retirement program [401(k) plan]
• paid vacation and holidays
• paid leaves
• health benefits including medical, prescription drug, dental, and vision coverage

What This Job Offers

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