Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Protein Design

Visterra • Waltham, MA

6d • Onsite

About The Position

Visterra is seeking a creative and driven Postdoctoral Research Fellow to join its Protein Design team. This hands-on role supports early-stage drug discovery programs across a broad portfolio, applying cutting-edge protein design approaches to therapeutic challenges. The fellow will build and apply machine learning methods for structure prediction, de novo protein and antibody design, and computational optimization. The role works across antibody and non-antibody biotherapeutics in a fast-paced, interdisciplinary environment and reports to the Associate Director, Research. It is a full-time position at Visterra’s offices in Waltham, Massachusetts, with an expected fellowship length of 24 months. The role may involve travel to local and national conferences.

Requirements

• Ph.D. or equivalent in computational biology, structural biology, biochemistry, or a related discipline, with significant and extensive experience in protein design.
• Strong knowledge of experimental and computational aspects of protein structure, function, and engineering.
• Demonstrated track record of employing or developing protein design methods.
• Proficiency in computational protein modeling, design, and analysis tools or algorithms, such as PyRosetta, AlphaFold, ESMFold, RFdiffusion, ProteinMPNN, BindCraft, and PyMOL.
• Hands-on experience processing and analyzing large, complex datasets.
• High proficiency in Python and Python libraries for data analysis, machine learning, and deep learning frameworks.
• Experience working in a Linux environment, including bash scripting.
• Comfort working in high-performance computing environments such as SLURM and/or cloud environments.
• Ability to work in multidisciplinary teams and strong interpersonal skills.
• Ability to help direct experimental evaluation of computational methods or designs and use experimental data to validate and refine in silico methods.

Responsibilities

• Champion the integration of the latest machine learning methods and emerging technologies into protein design workflows.
• Stay current with developments in the field, evaluate new tools critically, and bring appropriate tools in-house.
• Partner with computational and experimental scientists inside and outside Visterra to drive structure- and property-guided design of therapeutic proteins and antibodies.
• Analyze scientific results, troubleshoot methods, and develop creative solutions to complex challenges.
• Translate complex data analyses into clear findings and communicate them to colleagues and leadership.
• Bring ideas to team meetings and help advance programs throughout the drug discovery process.
• Help direct experimental evaluation of computational methods or designs and use experimental data to validate and refine in silico methods.
• Potentially publish novel methods and research findings at conferences and in scientific journals.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Intern
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree