Molecular Design & DNA Nanotechnology Lead

Astera Institute•Emerybille, CA

7d•Onsite

About The Position

The Astera Institute is seeking a Molecular Design & DNA Nanotechnology Lead to lead the design and wet-lab fabrication of a DNA-origami electrostatic actuator — a charged origami plate/polymer/electrode stack that, driven by an applied field, produces controlled nanometer-scale motion through a force-transmitting linkage. This position reports to Dr. Jeremy Barton (Astera Institute Resident, Project Lead). This is a full-time position.

Requirements

PhD in structural DNA nanotechnology, biophysics, bioengineering, chemistry, or a related field, with demonstrated DNA-origami design and folding experience.
Proficiency with DNA-nanostructure design tools and coarse-grained molecular-dynamics simulation (e.g., caDNAno, oxDNA).
Hands-on wet-lab command of folding, gel and AFM quality control, and purification.
A track record of taking nanoscale structures from design through to characterized, functional devices.
Ability to lead a small interdisciplinary team and communicate across disciplines.

Responsibilities

Design the DNA-origami actuator mechanism — the charged drive plate, the force-transmitting structure, and the amplifying lever or four-bar linkage — that turns a small electrostatic deflection of the plate into a larger, controlled output displacement within a sub-200-nanometer footprint.
Use coarse-grained molecular-dynamics simulation (e.g., oxDNA) to predict the mechanism's mechanical behavior — stiffness, compliance, and thermal stability of its motion — and iterate the design.
Fold and optimize the DNA origami in the wet lab (annealing, buffer, and magnesium conditions), and design the site-specific chemistry that anchors the plate and mechanism to the device surface.
Own folding yield and quality control, and prepare structures for characterization by atomic-force microscopy (AFM), cryo-electron microscopy, and single-molecule fluorescence.
Lead a small, interdisciplinary founding team and collaborate closely with device-physics, controls, and computational colleagues.