Senior Research Scientist

Sr. Research Scientist - Wilmington, DE

ICON plc is a world-leading healthcare intelligence and clinical research organization. We’re proud to foster an inclusive environment driving innovation and excellence, and we welcome you to join us on our mission to shape the future of clinical development.

• Independently design and optimize recombinant protein constructs for expression and downstream applications.
• Perform transfection of plasmids into mammalian cells, cell line maintenance, generation of baculovirus, and protein expression in insect (Sf9) and mammalian systems.
• Express recombinant proteins using bacterial expression systems and optimize conditions to maximize yield, solubility, and quality.
• Develop, optimize, and execute protein purification workflows using chromatography techniques includingaffinity, ion-exchange, hydrophobic interaction, and size-exclusion chromatography (SEC).
• Develop and execute purification strategies for antibodies, antibody fragments, and antibody-containing complexes.
• Performantibody purification and QC, including assessment of purity, aggregation, integrity, concentration, and overall sample quality using appropriate analytical methods.
• Characterize purified proteins and antibodies using a broad range ofbiochemical and biophysical techniques, including analytical SEC/HPLC, SDS-PAGE, intact-mass analysis where applicable, DSF/thermal shift assays, BLI, SPR, and other analytical assays.
• Establish and applyprotein and antibody quality-control criteria to ensure samples are suitable for structural studies, binding assays, biochemical assays, immunization campaigns, and other downstream applications.
• Evaluate protein and antibody stability, homogeneity, aggregation state, concentration, and batch-to-batch consistency; identify potential quality issues and implement appropriate corrective strategies.
• Troubleshoot recombinant protein and antibody expression, purification, and stability challenges to improve yield, purity, monodispersity, and functional quality.
• Generate high-quality protein samples and protein complexes forX-ray crystallography, cryo-EM, biophysical studies, biochemical assays, and other structural biology applications.
• Support antibody discovery programs by providing purified and well-characterized antibody molecules and complexes for downstream functional and structural characterization.
• Independently plan and execute small- and large-scale expression, purification, and characterization experiments while effectively managing multiple projects and priorities.
• Contribute to the daily operations of a highly productive protein production laboratory, including maintaining equipment, improving workflows, and supporting laboratory development and technology implementation.
• Analyze and interpret experimental data, communicate results clearly, and make data-driven recommendations that can influence program strategy and decision-making.
• Collaborate effectively with protein engineers, structural biologists, assay scientists, computational scientists, and project teams in a highly matrixed environment.
• Contribute to the development and implementation ofAI-enabled and technology-driven approaches to accelerate protein production, characterization, structural biology, and drug discovery workflows.
• Maintain accurate experimental records and communicate results through presentations, written reports, and cross-functional project meetings.
• Work effectively in a fast-paced, dynamic environment while maintaining high scientific and operational standards.

• PhD in Biochemistry, Biophysics, Protein Chemistry, Molecular Biology, Structural Biology, or a related field withat least 2 years of relevant experience, or a Master's degree with at least 5 years of relevant experience in drug discovery, biotechnology, pharmaceutical research, or an academic laboratory.
• Demonstrated hands‑on expertise inprotein chemistry, recombinant protein expression, purification, and biophysical characterization.
• Experience with purification and characterization ofantibodies and/or antibody fragments, including development and optimization of purification workflows and analytical QC.
• Demonstrated…