Research Scientist​/Engineer

Job Description Field of research:

The Institute for Protein Design (IPD) at the University of Washington is a world-leading research center focused on creating new proteins that solve challenges in medicine, technology, and sustainability. Founded by Nobel laureate David Baker, the IPD fosters a collaborative, interdisciplinary environment, bringing together expertise in computational design, biochemistry, genome sciences, and structural biology.

This position is based in the King Lab at the IPD, a highly collaborative, interdisciplinary research environment spanning computational and wet-lab protein design with biomedical applications.

Purpose of the research project(s):

The King Lab is seeking a motivated Research Scientist to play a critical role in supporting and advancing a project developing the next-generation of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapies. This project will specifically focus on augmenting the cytotoxic machinery of CAR-T cells by developing de novo mini protein inhibitors of critical tumor-specific enzymes. If successful, this project will result in a clinical product for testing in first-in-human clinical trials within the UW Cancer Consortium.

The Research Scientist will work closely with graduate students, postdocs, and staff scientists across the King Lab as well as collaborating labs.

Major duties and responsibilities:

Molecular and cell biology-80%
• Perform recombinant protein expression (bacterial and/or mammalian systems) and purification of de novo designed mini protein inhibitors
• Assist in the development of a high-throughput, cell-based assay for screening mini protein libraries
• Engineer CAR-T cells and assess viability and in vitro cytotoxicity
• Conduct biophysical and biochemical assays to characterize protein-protein interactions including SPR/BLI
• Support structural biology efforts, including sample preparation for x-ray crystallography and/or cryo-EM, in coordination with the IPD Research Core Laboratories.
• Assist with literature and structural database (PDB) mining to catalogue relevant structures and binding partner data
• Maintain accurate, organized laboratory records/notebooks and contribute to data management and reproducibility standards-10%
• Assist with data analysis, figure preparation, and presentation of results at lab meetings
• Prepare reagents, buffers, and maintain general lab operations-5%
• Perform other duties as assigned to support the goals of the research program-5%
Requirements:

Bachelor's degree in Biochemistry, Biology or other related field and one year of relevant experience with Hands-on experience with standard molecular biology techniques (cloning, PCR, mutagenesis) and protein biochemistry (expression, purification, quantification)
Equivalent education and/or experience may substitute for minimum qualifications except when there are legal requirements, such as a license, certification, and/or registration.

Additional requirements:

• Strong scientific problem-solving skills and ability to multitask
• Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and ability to maintain clear records
• A collaborative mindset with a strong desire to work in a fast-paced, interdisciplinary research environment
• Hands-on experience with handling CAR-T cells or native T cells including production, culture, and in vitro cytotoxicity assays.

Desired:
• At least 2 years of prior experience in an academic or biotech research lab setting
• Experience with biophysical characterization techniques (SPR, BLI)
• Familiarity with structural biology methods
• Experience with Protein Data Bank (PDB) and/or Alpha Fold 3

Compensation, Benefits and Position Details Pay Range Minimum:$62,400.00 annual

Pay Range Maximum:$84,000.00 annual

Other Compensation:

-Benefi…