Bioinformatics Intern - Protein Design

At Syngenta Seeds Field Crops,we'reshaping the future of agriculture and empowering farmers to meet the ever-growing demand for food and fuel.

We’rea global Ag Tech powerhouse, headquartered in the United States, with passionate, local experts collaborating with farmers to deliver solutions that create market opportunities.

We unite precision breeding, advanced biotechnology trait choice, and digital platforms for unmatched in-field performance.

Our seeds help mitigate risks such as disease,insect,weed, and extreme weather pressures, all while promoting sustainable farming practices that protect and enhance our planet. Join our mission of revolutionizing food security and transforming agriculture.

At Syngenta, our goal is to build the most collaborative and trustworthy team in agriculture, providing top-quality seeds and innovative crop protection solutions that improve farmers' success. We invite you to help shape the future of agriculture and play a role in safely feeding the world while caring for our planet.

Syngenta's Bioinformatics Team is seeking a Protein Design Intern in Durham, NC. This internship role will be part of a high-performance scientific team, developing cutting-edge skills in computational protein design to deliver innovative solutions for agricultural biotechnology.

As part of Syngenta's Emerging Talent Program, you will gain hands-on experience, exposure to day-to-day business operations, and opportunities to apply your academic knowledge to real-world challenges while developing your professional skills.

Duration: May 2027 - August 2027

• Apply computational protein design methods to generate novel protein candidates and minibinders to selected targets.
• Optimize workflows that integrate protein design, structure prediction, and ranking approaches to identify promising candidates.
• Evaluate designed protein variants using sequence- and structure-based analyses.

• Leverage open-source protein design and structure prediction workflows using tools such as ProteinMPNN, Boltz Gen, and Boltz-2.
• Design, rank, and filter protein candidates based on predicted structure, interface quality, and computational metrics.
• Perform structural analysis and annotation of designed proteins and protein-protein interfaces.
• Test and run computational protein design tools in Linux, HPC, or cloud-based environments such as AWS.
• Develop Python/Bash scripts for data processing, workflow automation, and visualization.
• Document workflows, create user guides and READMEs, and present findings to cross-functional teams.
• Collaborate with and take guidance from other scientists to refine design strategy based on biological insights.
• Summarize design results in clear reports, visualizations, and recommendations for follow-up testing.

• Current MS or PhD student in Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, Structural Biology, Biochemistry, Computer Science, or related field.

• Proficiency in Python and basic Bash scripting.
• Basic understanding of protein structure concepts, including protein domains, structural alignment, and protein-protein interfaces.
• Familiarity with protein structure prediction methods such as Boltz-2 or Alpha Fold.
• Familiarity with generative protein design or sequence design tools such as RF diffusion or ProteinMPNN.
• Familiarity with protein structure visualization tools (PyMOL).
• Experience with Linux/Unix command-line environments.

• Ability to work with large datasets and implement reproducible computational workflows.
• Strong problem-solving skills and attention to detail.
• Effective written and verbal communication skills.

• Experience evaluating protein-protein interfaces using…