Scientist - Biochemistry

Merge Labs • San Francisco, CA

19h

About The Position

Merge Labs is a frontier research lab with the mission of bridging biological and artificial intelligence to maximize human ability, agency and experience. We’re pursuing this goal by developing fundamentally new approaches to brain-computer interfaces that interact with the brain at high bandwidth, integrate with advanced AI, and are ultimately safe and accessible for anyone to use. About the team: Our Bio team designs, builds, and characterizes the biotechnologies that form the foundation of next-generation brain-computer interfaces. We combine molecular engineering, synthetic biology, neuroscience and advanced physical methods such as ultrasound to establish less invasive, high-bandwidth connections with neurons. The Bio team develops our core molecular technologies, validates their performance in vitro and in vivo, and demonstrates their advanced capabilities in animal models. We build custom experimental setups and pipelines and collaborate closely with engineers and data scientists. We work across disciplines to come up with creative ideas and solve some of the most challenging problems in biotechnology. About the role: As a Scientist in Biochemistry, you’ll dissect the molecular mechanisms underlying the assembly, stability, and regulation of our biomolecular reporters. You’ll design and execute mechanistic studies to reveal how individual components interact dynamically, and how we can tune those interactions to optimize function in cells. Working closely with protein engineers, cell biologists, and computational modelers, you’ll translate biochemical insights into design rules that accelerate our engineering cycles.

Requirements

• A PhD in Biochemistry, Biophysics, or a related field, or have equivalent experience leading research projects end-to-end.
• Deep expertise in protein expression and purification, including multimeric or aggregation-prone complexes.
• Strong foundation in protein–protein interactions, conformational dynamics, and energy-coupled biochemical mechanisms — you think in rate constants, equilibria, transition states and regulation.
• Experience designing and interpreting in vitro biochemical assays for binding, assembly, or kinetics.
• A love of unusual proteins and mechanistic puzzles — you enjoy unpacking how complex systems work at the molecular level and turning that understanding into actionable engineering insights.
• Fun working on multidisciplinary teams, collaborating and communicating with experts across disciplines.
• The desire to be part of a fast-paced team working on frontier scientific and technical problems.

Responsibilities

• Design and conduct mechanistic studies on the assembly and dynamics of multi-protein complexes.
• Express, purify, and reconstitute protein components in bacterial, mammalian, or cell-free systems.
• Develop and perform in vitro biochemical assays (binding, assembly, kinetics, stability) to characterize protein complexes and related systems.
• Investigate complex protein assembly and degradation pathways to identify regulatory bottlenecks.
• Collaborate with structural biology partners to perform cryo-EM, cryo-ET, X-ray crystallography, or NMR studies.
• Integrate biochemical and structural data to guide protein and genetic construct design.
• Partner with molecular and computational engineers to translate mechanistic insights into higher-order control of protein expression, clustering, and compatibility with other functional modules.

What This Job Offers

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