Protein Structure Search & Design Intern

Syngenta Group • Durham, NC

3d

About The Position

At Syngenta, every employee plays a role in safely feeding the world and caring for our planet. Our Bioinformatics group in Durham, North Carolina, is seeking a Structural Bioinformatics Intern to advance protein discovery from metagenomic datasets. As part of a high-performance scientific team, you will develop cutting-edge skills in structure-based protein search, function prediction, and computational design to deliver innovative solutions for agricultural biotechnology.

Requirements

• Education Current MS or PhD student in Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, Structural Biology, or related field
• Technical Proficiency in Python and/or R for bioinformatics (PyRosetta a plus)
• Basic understanding of protein structure concepts (protein domains, structural alignment)
• Familiarity of protein structure prediction methods (AlphaFold2, ESMFold, Boltz)
• Familiarity with protein structure visualization (PyMOL or ChimeraX)
• Experience with Linux/Unix command-line environments
• Knowledge of sequence analysis tools (BLAST, alignment methods)
• Analytical Ability to work with large datasets and implement reproducible computational workflows
• Strong problem-solving skills and attention to detail
• Effective written and verbal communication skills

Nice To Haves

• Experience with protein structure comparison tools (TM-align, FoldSeek)
• Experience with protein function prediction tools (InterProScan or ESM-based methods)
• Knowledge of protein databases (PDB, UniProt, AlphaFoldDB, ESM Metagenomic Atlas)
• Experience with HPC or cloud computing
• Self-motivated with ability to work independently and collaboratively
• Enthusiasm for learning new computational methods and tools
• Experience presenting technical work to diverse audiences

Responsibilities

• Apply structural bioinformatics methods to discover novel proteins
• Develop computational workflows that integrate sequence and structure-based search algorithms to identify and rank protein candidates
• Implement protein structure-based search workflows using tools like FoldSeek, ESMFold, and Boltz
• Perform structural analysis and annotation of protein candidates
• Develop Python/Bash scripts for data processing and visualization
• Document workflows, create user guides, and present findings to cross-functional teams
• Collaborate with other scientists to refine research strategies based on biological insights
• Share results and learnings at team meetings and educate team members on workflows and results

What This Job Offers

• Career Level: Intern
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees