Research Associate I/II, Protein Sciences

Flagship Pioneering, Inc.•Cambridge, MA

3h•$65,000 - $93,500

About The Position

Flagship Labs 109, Inc. (FL109), a privately held, early-stage technology company conceived by Flagship Pioneering, is pioneering the use of artificial intelligence, physics, and hardware to transform how biology is understood. The Research Associate will support recombinant protein production at Fathem, focusing on expression, purification, and characterization of challenging protein targets, including membrane proteins and samples suitable for cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM). The work emphasizes high-throughput, high-quality data generation. The role combines protein biochemistry, structural biology, and AI-driven technology development. The successful candidate will build robust purification workflows and characterization assays that provide data for next-generation computational models. It is a hands-on, fast-moving position suited to someone who enjoys solving challenging biochemical problems and translating experimental work into new insights and capabilities.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry or a related field and at least 2 years of relevant academic or industry laboratory experience, or a master’s degree in Biochemistry or a related field.
Hands-on experience with recombinant protein expression and purification across the end-to-end workflow, including transformation or transfection and affinity, ion-exchange, and size-exclusion chromatography.
Familiarity with protein construct design and analytical techniques for assessing recombinant protein quality, including size-exclusion chromatography, dynamic light scattering, and thermostability assays.
Ability to rigorously document work in an electronic lab notebook and maintain laboratory organization and inventories.

Nice To Haves

More than one year of recombinant protein production and purification experience in an industry setting.
Proficiency with ÄKTA systems and UNICORN software, including designing and executing protein purification methods.
Experience implementing protein characterization and binding assays, such as ELISA, BLI, or enzymatic activity assays.
Proficiency with multiple protein expression systems, such as bacterial, mammalian, insect, yeast, or cell-free platforms.
Experience generating proteins for high-resolution cryo-EM applications.
Expertise in purification and characterization of membrane proteins.
Experience with automation in biochemistry, such as automated protein purification or high-throughput assay development.
Experience producing and purifying antibodies or antibody fragments.

Responsibilities

Support recombinant protein production, including expression, purification, and characterization of challenging protein targets.
Develop robust protein purification workflows and characterization assays.
Generate high-throughput, high-quality data to support computational models and technology development.
Perform end-to-end recombinant protein workflows, including transformation or transfection and chromatographic purification.
Assess recombinant protein quality using analytical techniques.
Document work in an electronic lab notebook and maintain laboratory organization and inventories.