Research Scientist​/Engr

Institute for Protein Design (IPD)

has an outstanding opportunity for a Research Scientist/Engr 2 to join their team.

The Research Scientist 2 (RS2) will join a predominantly wet-lab group founded on the belief that experimentation can not only be used to analyze protein designs, but generate data to improve existing models so designed proteins are better in the first place.

We create and implement workflows to reduce the protein build and test burden, in order to increase the throughput and speed of generating standardized and high quality functional data on protein designs. Our work sits at the intersection of wet lab techniques, semi-automation hardware, and computation, with a focus on increasing efficiency and capacity. We are increasingly incorporating machine learning models into our design-build-test iterations to predict protein function.

The group is predominantly focused on enzymes, but often touches other modalities such as binding.

Example projects include:

• ML guided iterative enzyme evolution
• Novel recombinase testing and optimization
• Molecular biology assay development & execution for high-throughput DNA assembly

Lastly, an important aspect woven into all of this work is that, as part of an academic institution, the IPD strives to develop great scientists in addition to great science.

• end-to-end implementation of high-throughput workflows to generate protein functional data
• development of robust protein and molecular biology workflows
• execution of standard molecular biology and protein protocols
• writing and troubleshooting of protocols

• execution of, and contribution to, machine learning codebase
• writing scripts to support data processing, automation, workflow implementation

• analysis of experimental data in a standardized format
• deposition of data in centralized data repository
• gain insights with data to inform future experiments
• support the continued development of our internal results database

• engagement with IPD colleagues and external partners to discuss project plans and results
• contribute to publications

• train IPD colleagues on experimental workflows and equipment

• work with IPD colleagues to ensure lab is well-organized and that instruments are maintained for proper performance

To be considered for this opportunity your application must demonstrate you meet both the minimum qualifications and additional qualifications listed below. Equivalent education and/or experience may substitute for minimum qualifications except when there are legal requirements, such as a license, certification, and/or registration.

Applicants who do not meet these qualifications WILL NOT be forwarded to the Hiring Department.

Bachelor's Degree in Biochemistry, Biology, or related fields and 2 years of relevant experience with molecular biology and/or protein biochemistry.

• substantial molecular biology and/or protein biochemistry experience
• strong experience with computational biology and/or general programming
• demonstrated ability for high-quality, reproducible experimental work
• prior contributions to the development, optimization, automation, and standardization of higher throughput molecular biology or protein workflows
• significant experience with automated or semi-automated systems for high-throughput data generation
• experience working in a platform-focused group with expectations to support a wide-range of partners
• eagerness and ability to learn and engage in new topics and scientific domains
• self-motivated and self-directed
• organizational aptitude to work on multiple concurrent projects.

• mass spectrometry experience

Located at the University of Washington in Seattle, the Institute for Protein Design (IPD) is a unique interdisciplinary environment where world-class researchers create proteins that solve modern challenges in medicine, technology, and sustainability.…