Vector Design/Protein Design Scientist

Prolific Machines

Emeryville, California, United States

Posted on: 2025-02-26

Category: agritech

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Employment type:

Full time

Experience required:

Intermediate

Salary

Salary not provided

About the company:

Prolific Machines is an innovative startup biotech on a mission to accelerate the transition to sustainable agriculture. We believe that we have the only solution to make cultured meat at a price that is competitive with factory farming. We are looking for mission-driven, skilled, and kind people to help create the alternative we need to transition to a more sustainable and healthy future.

Prolific Machines is ushering in a new era of biotechnology with light. Our first-of-its-kind photomolecular platform delivers unprecedented control, precisely guiding cellular behavior when and where it matters most. Unlike existing tools used to control biology, our technology unlocks dynamic control over virtually any cellular function in any cell type. We're enabling partners to unlock robust efficiency, quality, reproducibility, and sustainability advantages across pharmaceuticals and therapeutic proteins. Prolific is supported by leading investors, including Bill Gates’s Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Mayfield and SOSV.

Help us create a brighter tomorrow with biology. We're looking for mission-driven, talented, and kind people to join our team.

About this Job

We’re looking for a Senior Scientist with deep experience in cell line development for pharmaceutical protein production. This role will be part of the synthetic biology team and will work closely with members from the optogenetics, bioprocess development, and analytical chemistry teams to revolutionize biomanufacturing.

Diversity: We value diverse people, perspectives, and knowledge. To this end, we aim to foster a sense of belonging that enables everyone to bring their whole, authentic self to work everyday. We are committed to growing a diverse and inclusive team that encompasses all types of people. We believe this can only be achieved by acknowledging the ancestral, historic, and current systemic and communal inequities.

Location: The San Francisco Bay Area (Emeryville, CA)

Benefits: Outstanding Health, Vision & Dental Insurance (including full spouse coverage), at least one all-expense-paid team holiday per year, flexibility in schedule and unlimited vacation days. Free lunch every day!

Responsibilities

Design, build and test vectors to bring two high value protein targets through conventional cell line development within 9 months

Contribute to the design, build and testing of vectors for optogenetic cell line development

Codify Prolific's engineering principles as it relates to the production of secreted proteins

Build and refine a company wide vector construction platform for standard and difficult to produce proteins

Close collaboration with commercial and product managers to identify requirements for prospective targets

Close collaboration with synthetic biology and optogenetic teams to ensure learnings are translated across research groups for R&D and commercial purposes

Analysis, documentation, and presentation of experimental data across teams and to leadership

Contribute to expanding the intellectual property (IP) portfolio

Contribute to a comprehensive FTO strategy for cell line engineering

About You

Extensive individual contributor experience in the vector/protein design/cell line engineering field with a track record of bringing targets through discovery and scale up

Experience designing expression constructs with optimal signal peptides, linkers, and tags for improved yield and purification

Experience applying sequence optimization strategies (e.g., codon optimization, surface charge engineering) to enhance production.

Experience using structure-guided protein tools (e.g., Rosetta, AlphaFold, PyMOL) to inform rational protein design modifications that consider stability, secretion, and functionality is a plus.

PhD in bio/chemical engineering, biotechnology, biochemistry, or another relevant discipline, or equivalent experience

Experience with high-throughput cell line development environments using automation

Enjoy both leading and carrying out independent projects and experimental work

Excited about working with interdisciplinary teams

Have strong communication skills and comfortable teaching and sharing knowledge at multiple levels of technical detail

Eager to work in a high-growth, fast-paced, and dynamic startup environment

Comfortable pushing the boundaries of what is known to create innovative solutions

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