Research Associate II / Senior Research Associate - Antibody Purification Process Development (South San Francisco, CA)
About The Position
Twist is seeking a motivated and detail-oriented Research Associate II or Senior Research Associate to support and improve our antibody purification and downstream development platform. This role is highly hands-on and focused on the execution, optimization, and standardization of antibody purification workflows across multiple antibody formats. You will work closely with expression, analytics, and automation teams to ensure robust, scalable, and reproducible purification processes that support discovery and other platform development efforts. The ideal candidate enjoys methodical experimentation, understands various process tradeoffs, and takes pride in producing high-quality results efficiently and reproducibly. Job title and compensation will be determined based on several factors, including but not limited to the candidate's years of experience, individual skills, knowledge, and abilities.
Requirements
- Strong hands-on experience in antibody purification, including:
- Protein A (and similar) capture and elution optimization
- Polishing strategies to reduce aggregates and impurities
- Buffer exchange and formulation considerations
- Practical experience purifying antibodies from mammalian expression systems (CHO and HEK preferred)
- Understanding of how antibody sequence, format, and expression conditions impact downstream behavior (e.g. yield, aggregation, stickiness, recovery)
- Experience working with multiple antibody formats, including:
- Standard IgGs
- Fc-engineered variants
- Bispecific or multi-chain antibodies
- Hands-on experience with antibody quality and purity assessment methods, including:
- SEC-HPLC or aSEC
- CE-SDS or SDS-PAGE
- Concentration determination (UV, BCA, etc.)
- Experience with antibody characterization methods (e.g. BLI, SPR, DSF, DLS)
- Experience with chromatography systems (ÄKTA or similar)
- Ability to follow, improve, and help standardize workflows—not just execute protocols blindly
- Strong attention to experimental detail, reproducibility, and data quality
- Comfort working in a fast-paced, multi-project environment
- Ability to follow, improve, and help standardize workflows—not just execute protocols blindly
- BS. or M.S. in Cell Biology, Biochemistry, Chemical Engineerings, or related fields.
- Research Associate II
- Requires a BS and 2 + years of professional experience or a Master's degree and 0-2 years of work experience
- Sr Research Associate
- Requires a BS and 5 + years of professional experience or a Master's degree and 3+ years of work experience
Nice To Haves
- Familiarity with automation or liquid-handling systems is a plus
- Experience with high-throughput or semi-automated workflows for expression, purification, and screening is a plus
- Familiarity with Python or equivalent programming languages is a plus
Responsibilities
- Execute and optimize small- and medium-scale antibody purification workflows across multiple formats, including IgGs, Fc variants, and multi-specific antibodies
- Perform capture (e.g. Protein A), polishing steps (SEC, IEX, HIC as appropriate), and buffer exchange using spin columns, gravity columns, and chromatography systems
- Support the development, refinement, and standardization of downstream purification SOPs for platform use
- Evaluate purification performance metrics, including yield, purity, recovery, aggregation, assembly, and throughput
- Troubleshoot common downstream challenges such as low recovery, aggregation, proteolysis, mis-assembly, and/or host-cell protein carryover
- Collaborate with upstream expression and analytics teams to close the loop between expression output and purification performance
- Develop and support scale-down models that inform larger-scale purification strategies
- Contribute to high-throughput or semi-automated purification workflows, including plate-based or parallelized formats
- Maintain detailed experimental records and communicate results clearly to cross-functional partners
- Manage time and experiments effectively to support multiple concurrent projects
- Contribute to a collaborative, proactive, and execution-focused lab culture
- Move projects forward efficiently / manage time and resources effectively / prioritize tasks in accordance with the company’s goals
- Document and communicate results clearly and succinctly
- Be helpful / collaborative / proactive
- Stay up to date with new developments, companies, and technologies
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Entry Level
Number of Employees
501-1,000 employees
