Principal Scientist, Protein Biology

Principal Scientist, Protein Biology

Voyager Therapeutics seeks a highly motivated and experienced biochemist and molecular biologist to contribute to its research team at its facility in Cambridge, Massachusetts. As a gene therapy company, Voyager has engineered novel AAV capsids which are changing the face of in vivo gene therapy. Along the way, we have identified surface receptors which mediate blood brain barrier penetrance of these novel capsids.

Since we now have a novel validated mechanism for transport of BBB-penetrant AAV, we are looking to develop other new macromolecular cargo/drugs which leverage this new biology. You are going to be the protein science lead for this new program and advance a new Voyager initiative to build drugs which can use these receptors for non-AAV cargos. This is an ideal position for an individual with a strong background in protein biology and engineering, who has a can-do attitude and strong work ethic, and thrives in a team-oriented, fast-paced, and multi-disciplinary biotech environment. The individual will be responsible for experimental design, execution at the bench level, data analysis and reports (both written and verbal) leveraging binding moieties for these novel receptors, as well as establish the strategy to bring this science to new therapeutic programs. This individual's major responsibilities will be to conduct and lead studies in-house and with collaborators, and to manage studies conducted at contract research organizations. Extensive prior hands-on expertise in biochemistry, molecular and cellular techniques, and significant experience with recombinant protein engineering/optimization are required, as this role will include time at the bench, in addition to management of wet lab activities.

Key Responsibilities:

• Establish strategy for Voyager non-AAV therapeutics programs for BBB-penetrant protein biologics leveraging interactions with novel receptors
• Perform experiments, build, and lead a team reliant on broad protein biology skillset (incl Biacore, Octet, ELISA, pull-down, CryoEM, etc.) to expand our capabilities in advancing our platform and proving our biology
• Collaborate with our novel capsid discovery team to accelerate advances in AAV:Receptor biology and other protein ligands.

Requirements:

• Master degree/Ph.D in Biochemistry/Molecular/Cellular Biology or related discipline
• Extensive hands-on experience with protein engineering, molecular and cellular techniques
• 7-10 years (with Ph.D) or 10+ years (with MS) of experience in biologics drug discovery research, including protein engineering
• Proven track record in protein biology and protein-protein interaction methods
• Demonstrated success with in vitro assay development
• Significant experiencewith managing and maintaining collaborations with other laboratories and/or CROs
• Outstanding problem solving skills
• Ability to be highly productive in a fluid, fast-paced and team work environment

Strongly Preferred:

• Significant experience with early drug development within a biotech environment
• Proven record in biochemistry, structural biology, antibody/protein engineering, production (small scale) and purification of proteins
• Experience in expression of recombinant proteins and antibodies on mammalian cell surface and variety of cell-based assays
• Significant experience within a cross-functional therapeutic program team
• Working experience with antibody fragments and nanobodies, as well as bispecific antibody construction, optimization and evaluation
• Experience with writing industry study reports (reports in support of IND a significant plus)
• Strong publication record in peer-reviewed journals