Postdoctoral Fellow Generative AI for Antibody Drug Conjugate Discovery

Pfizer • Bothell, WA

21h • $64,600 - $107,600 • Onsite

About The Position

The Antibody Drug Conjugate Discovery group (ADCD) within the Oncology Research Unit (ORU) at Pfizer is seeking a highly motivated Postdoctoral Fellow to help pioneer the integration of generative artificial intelligence and protein engineering for advancing novel ADC technologies. This role will focus on building a robust, reusable AI‑enabled discovery pipeline for protein- and peptide‑based binders, with ADC targeting and payload considerations serving as the foundational design. As a member of ADC Discovery’s Antibody Engineering Team, this Postdoctoral Fellow will aim to innovate several core pillars of ADC design using AI to optimize target affinity, epitope selection, stability, and efficacy. This role is ideally suited for a Postdoctoral Fellow eager to help implement real‑world applications of generative AI tools, driving efforts from conceptualization through practical execution. In addition to membership in the Antibody Engineering Team, this Postdoctoral Fellow will interact extensively with internal AI leadership across Pfizer and with established external generative‑AI partners, helping to integrate multiple AI tools, platforms, and design philosophies into ADC discovery. The successful candidate will work in a highly collaborative environment to ensure that AI‑driven discoveries are technically sound, experimentally actionable, and impactful for future ADC discovery. This role emphasizes professional development through scientific publication, on-the-job-training, and direct exposure to Pfizer’s world-class Oncology Research Unit.

Requirements

• Ph.D. degree in Chemistry, Biochemistry, Chemical Biology, Computational Chemistry, or related discipline.
• Less than 2 years of post-degree experience.
• Willingness to make a minimum 2-year commitment.
• Successful record of scientific accomplishments evidenced by scientific publications and/or presentations with at least one first-author publication in a high-quality specialty or general readership journals.
• Two letters of recommendation are also required prior to interview stage.
• Proficiency in developing, conducting and analyzing wet‑lab assays and progression of peptides/proteins through experimental validation, optimization, and follow‑up characterization.
• Ability to express and purify proteins (mammalian and bacterial expression systems), QA/QC of recombinant protein (UPLC, SEC, functional assays, DSC/DLS), develop and analyze binding assays (ie. ELISA, FRET, cell-based reporter assays)
• Demonstrated ability to conduct independent research and produce publishable scientific work.
• Strong ability to operate effectively in a highly collaborative, cross‑functional research environment

Nice To Haves

• Experience developing and applying generative AI-enabled pipelines for novel peptide or protein binder discovery, including iterative in silico screening to optimize properties such as diversity, developability, epitope coverage, and affinity (ie. Bindcraft, Boltz, Chai, or related platforms or components thereof (MPNN, AF2, RFDiffusion))
• Prior experience in antibody/ADC design, protein or peptide engineering and drug design.

Responsibilities

• Conduct wet‑lab experimentation, including protein and peptide production as well as cell‑based, cell‑free, and biophysical assays, in close collaboration with internal experts and external CROs.
• Generate robust AI and wet-lab experimentation datasets and leverage this combination of outputs to validate, refine, and train generative AI tools and advance promising designs through iterative optimization and experimentation.
• Rapidly progress from proof‑of‑concept targets and methodology evaluation to application of the pipeline on high‑value, prioritized oncology targets, advancing state‑of‑the‑art ADC capabilities within Pfizer’s Oncology Research Unit.
• Collaborate closely with internal and external generative‑AI partners to align workflows, share technical learnings, and accelerate adoption of emerging AI methodologies in therapeutic discovery.
• Independently interpret and analyze data to communicate findings through internal seminars, cross‑functional forums, and generating manuscripts for high-impact peer-reviewed publications.
• Help establish scalable, reproducible discovery practices that can be transferred to and adopted by other research teams across Pfizer.

Benefits

• a 401(k) plan with Pfizer Matching Contributions and an additional Pfizer Retirement Savings Contribution
• paid vacation
• holiday and personal days
• paid caregiver/parental and medical leave
• health benefits to include medical, prescription drug, dental and vision coverage
• participation in Pfizer’s Global Performance Plan with a bonus target of 7.5% of the base salary

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees