Senior Research Associate – Scientist II, Molecular Biology & Viral Vector Platforms

Senior Research Associate – Scientist II, Molecular Biology & Viral Vector Platforms

Contract Duration: One year

Why this matters:

This role accelerates cell and genome therapy research by enabling reliable generation, characterization, and improvement of lentiviral vectors used in discovery and preclinical studies.

The Opportunity

We are seeking a highly motivated Senior Research Associate / Associate Scientist (BS/MS) to advance lentiviral vector research with some early process development. This is a 100% bench-based, hands-on laboratory role focused on running, troubleshooting, and improving upstream and downstream LVV workflows to enable discovery and preclinical studies.

Hands-on, bench role: This position is primarily lab-based and focuses on molecular biology, library design/generation for screening mammalian/phage display or related, lentiviral vector production, and T cell / immune cell workflows. Success in this role requires strong experimental execution, troubleshooting, and clear ELN documentation.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, build, and QC DNA constructs and variant libraries for screening (e.g., mammalian/phage display), including cloning strategy and library design influenced by structure-function analysis.
• Produce, titer, and QC lentivirus from HEK293T or derivatives; optimize transfection and harvest conditions to improve yield/quality.
• Perform mammalian tissue culture (maintenance, banking, transfection/transduction) in BSL-2; support scale-up as needed (cell factories and/or single-use bioreactors, where applicable).
• Execute immune cell workflows as applicable (PBMC/T cell isolation, activation, gene delivery, expansion) and support functional characterization.
• Run qPCR/RT-qPCR and multi-parameter flow cytometry; analyze results, troubleshoot, and recommend next experiments.
• Maintain rigorous ELN documentation and follow EHS/BSL-2 practices for viral vectors and human-derived materials.

Leveling will align with experience （Senior Research Associate through Scientist)and demonstrated hands-on capability in molecular biology, library generation/screening, lentivirus, and cell culture/immune cell workflows.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

• B.S. + 4 years, M.S. + 2 years, or Ph.D. + 1–2 years （or equivalent） in Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, Immunology, Bioengineering, Biochemistry, or related field.
• Strong molecular cloning and nucleic-acid workflows (vector design, Gibson/In-Fusion, plasmid prep, PCR/qPCR) with independent troubleshooting.
• Library design/build for screening or display (mammalian/phage or related) and support of selection/screen workflows.
• Lentivirus production in HEK293T/293T (transfection, harvest) plus titering/QC (qPCR/ddPCR, p24, and/or functional assays).
• Strong mammalian tissue culture (aseptic technique, expansion, banking) and comfort in BSL-2.
• High experimental rigor, clear ELN documentation, and ability to run multiple experiments in parallel.

Preferred Qualifications

• T cell activation, lentiviral transduction, expansion, and flow cytometry-based phenotyping/functional readouts.
• NGS-enabled library readouts (barcoding strategies, sample prep coordination, and basic analysis partnership).
• Viral vector scale-up/scale-down (cell factories, wave, or single-use bioreactors) and/or downstream handling (clarification/filtration, UF/DF, TFF

*This role is open to individual contractors only. Recruitment agencies: please do not contact us or submit candidates.