Scientist, RNA Therapeutics

Our mission is to make biology easier to engineer. Ginkgo is constructing, editing, and redesigning the living world in order to answer the globe’s growing challenges in health, energy, food, materials, and more. Our bioengineers make use of an in-house automated foundry for designing and building new organisms. 

Ginkgo is continuously crossing new frontiers of biological engineering, and we have a record of delivering to our partners what was (until recently) thought impossible. Now, our expansion into mammalian cell engineering promises to push our boundaries even further, and so we’re looking for curious, creative, and driven pioneers in this field.

We’re searching for a highly skilled and motivated Scientist with expertise in RNA biology and biochemistry. A successful applicant can independently design and conduct research focused on process development of novel approaches and technologies to synthesize, manufacture and purify synthetic RNA for use in therapeutics in a high-throughput manner and at scale. You are familiar with how RNA secondary structure and topology affects both its generation (in vitro or in vivo) and its function. You can also perform biological techniques in order to generate and characterize RNA both in vitro and in cells. You are familiar with different RNA purification techniques and are well versed in chromatography of nucleic acids. You have demonstrated experience owning and delivering technical milestones on timeline. As a driven and organized team member, you are flexible and can adapt to the changing demands of a fast-paced environment.  Internal Title will be a Mammalian Engineer 3.

Please note:  this role would primarily be based in our Boston, Seaport location, but may require some flexibility to occasionally be present at the Cambridge location.

Responsibilities

• Develop and evaluate processes and new approaches for the synthesis, purification, and analysis of synthetic RNAs
• Establish chromatographic processes to purify RNA to be used in R&D and pre-clinical manufacturing
• Author, review, and approve protocols, SOPs, technical documents, and reports for RNA manufacturing
• Independently plan and execute experiments, perform data analysis and interpretation
• Deliver reproducible and impactful results in a fast-paced environment
• Maintain thorough electronic lab notebooks and documentation records, and present findings to multi-disciplinary teams in various oral and written formats

Required Experience and Capabilities

• Degree or M.S. in Chemistry, Biochemistry, Chemical Engineering, or closely related fields with 5+ years industry experience or a PHD with 0-3 years of experience
• Experience purifying (anion exchange, reversed phase, size exclusion chromatography and TFF) nucleic acids
• Experience and/or working understanding of common techniques used to analyze oligonucleotides, such as HPLC/UPLC, UV/Fluor, CD and LC-MS
• Experience purifying biomolecules on an AKTA chromatography system is a plus
• Strong knowledge of nucleic acid chemistry, nucleic acid structure-activity relationships and safety profiles is desirable
• Expertise in in vitro transcription, analytical tools of RNA (gel electrophoresis, enzymatic reactions). Quantitative and statistical analysis of data
• Demonstrated ability and willingness to quickly learn and perform in new areas, implement new techniques and instruments
• Excellent communication and organization skills, with the ability to effectively convey project plans and complex technical information to a range of internal teams and external partners
• Desire to embrace challenges of developing novel technologies and work flexibly in a fast-paced, team-oriented and high-growth environment
• Ability to handle multiple projects in a fast-paced environment
• Can and will do attitude and innovative mindset
• Experience with Liquid Handlers like Hamilton and Lynx is a plus
• High work ethics standards

Additional Preferred Qualifications

• Direct experience in generating and screening large libraries of RNA elements to elucidate sequence-structure-function relationships between those elements and RNA processes (ie catalysis, translation, stability, interference, etc)
• Ability to effectively interface with custom and commercial LIMS systems, and utilize software tools for sample and workflow management, as well as scripting to automate tasks

To learn more about Ginkgo, visit www.ginkgobioworks.com/press/ or check out some curated press below:

• What is it really like to take your company public via a SPAC? One Boston biotech shares its journey (Fortune)
• Ginkgo Bioworks resizes the definition of going big in biotech, raising $2.5B in a record SPAC deal that weighs in with a whopping $15B-plus valuation (Endpoints News)
• Ginkgo Bioworks CEO on scaling up Covid-19 testing: ‘If we try, we can win’ (CNBC)
• Ginkgo raises $70 million to ramp up COVID-19 testing for employers, universities (Boston Globe)
• Ginkgo Bioworks Redirects Its Biotech Platform to Coronavirus (Wall Street Journal)
• Ginkgo Bioworks Provides Support on Process Optimization to Moderna for COVID-19 Response (PRNewswire)
• The Life Factory: Synthetic Organisms From This $1.4 Billion Startup Will Revolutionize Manufacturing (Forbes)
• Synthetic Bio Pioneer Ginkgo Raises $290 Million in New Funding (Bloomberg)
• Ginkgo Bioworks raises $350 million fund for biotech spinouts (Reuters)
• Can This Company Convince You to Love GMOs? (The Atlantic)

We also feel that it’s important to point out the obvious here – there’s a serious lack of diversity in our industry, and that needs to change. Our goal is to help drive that change. Ginkgo is deeply committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in all of its practices, especially when it comes to growing our team. Our culture promotes inclusion and embraces how rewarding it is to work with people from all walks of life.  

We’re developing a powerful biological engineering platform, so we must remain mindful of the many ways our technology can – and will – impact people around the world. We care about how our platform is used, and having a diverse team to build it gives us the best chance that it’s something we’ll be proud of as it continues to grow. Therefore, it’s critical that we incorporate the diverse voices and visions of all those who play a role in the future of biology.

It is the policy of Ginkgo Bioworks to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees, employment applicants, and EOE disability/vet.  

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