Post-Doctoral Research Scientist – Probes Enrichment and DNA Methylation

Zymo Research is seeking a postdoctoral research scientist to join the Epigenetics Technology group and develop next-generation sequencing (NGS) methods for targeted DNA methylation analysis and cancer research. The scientist will advance multiple probe enrichment and library preparation programs, from experimental concepts through feasibility testing, optimization, validation, and product development.

This hands-on role requires a strong background in molecular biology and enzymology and demonstrated NGS methods development experience. The scientist will integrate probe design, nucleic acid biochemistry, and sequencing library construction to improve target recovery, molecular complexity, and quantitative accuracy in low-input samples, including cell-free DNA (cfDNA) and formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue DNA.

Join us in making a meaningful impact!

• Independently design and execute research plans across probe enrichment, DNA methylation, and cancer assay (variants/SNPs) development projects. Define controls, milestones, feasibility criteria, and technical risks; communicate progress, resource needs, and decisions to the team leader.
• Develop novel NGS workflows that integrate target enrichment, methylation analysis, and library construction. Analyze compatibility of enzymatic reactions, conversion chemistry, adapter incorporation, amplification, and sequencing while minimizing sample loss and bias.
• Design and optimize DNA and RNA hybridization probes and capture panels for cancer-associated methylation regions and complementary genomic targets (variants/SNPs analyses). Evaluate hybridization specificity, enrichment efficiency, target recovery, coverage uniformity, and performance across GC content and input levels.
• Be willing to contribute to other projects leveraging relevant skills.

• Develop and optimize novel target enrichment workflows for DNA methylation analysis, evaluating specificity, recovery, reproducibility, and compatibility with downstream sequencing.
• Develop innovative NGS methods for cancer research, integrating molecular biology and enzymology to improve assay performance in collaboration with bioinformatics scientists.
• Apply enzymology to characterize and optimize polymerases, exonucleases, ligases, etc and other nucleic acid-modifying enzymes. Use time-course and substrate studies to assess activity, specificity, fidelity, processivity, and reaction compatibility; collaborate with the protein team on enzyme selection and improvement.
• Design and optimize primers and probes for qPCR, digital PCR, and targeted sequencing assays. Develop quantitative readouts for target enrichment, depletion, conversion, and molecule recovery, using orthogonal measurements to distinguish true recovery from amplification-related effects.
• Develop low-input workflows for cfDNA, FFPE DNA, and defined reference materials. Evaluate fragment-length effects, DNA damage, conversion-related loss, amplification bias, and adapter artifacts.
• Validate assays using methylation & variant/SNP standards, defined mixtures, synthetic controls, and appropriate cancer and non-cancer specimens. Assess methylation accuracy, enrichment, unique molecule recovery, reproducibility, and analytical sensitivity and specificity; characterize variant errors where applicable.
• Interpret NGS quality and performance data with bioinformatics colleagues, including on-target fraction, usable coverage, duplicates, UMI recovery, conversion metrics, and background error. Document results, prepare SOPs and technical transfer packages, and contribute to publications and invention disclosures.

• Provide scientific guidance and training to potential Research Associates and Interns assigned to the work. Demonstrate scientific objectivity, creativity, independent execution, sound judgment, strong organization, and a collaborative approach to solving practical product development problems.

• Ph.D. in molecular biology, biochemistry, epigenetics, genetics, genomics, or a related field, with first-authored publications demonstrating original scientific contributions.
• Demonstrated hands-on NGS methods development experience, including design, optimization, troubleshooting, and quantitative evaluation of sequencing library preparation workflows.
• Proficiency in designing, optimizing, and troubleshooting probe-based target enrichment…