Scientist – Discovery Biology/ T-cells

Dawar Consulting•San Diego, CA

1d•Onsite

About The Position

Join the Discovery Biology team to support a high-priority binder screening campaign for T-cell-based therapies. Characterize candidate binders (scFvs/VHHs) for potency, specificity, affinity, functionality, and safety through T-cell engineering and functional validation assays.

Requirements

Bachelor's or Master's degree in Immunology, Molecular Biology, Bioengineering, or a related biological science.
Minimum 2 years of hands-on wet-lab experience, preferably in an industry setting.
Strong aseptic technique and experience isolating primary T cells from PBMCs.
Mandatory expertise in flow cytometry acquisition and data analysis.

Nice To Haves

Hands-on experience with non-viral T-cell transfection/electroporation or nucleofection.
Experience with liquid-handling robotics and high-throughput screening workflows.
Proficiency in FlowJo and functional T-cell assay techniques.

Responsibilities

Perform non-viral engineering of primary human T cells using mRNA or transposon-based DNA systems via electroporation/nucleofection; monitor cell viability, recovery, and synthetic receptor expression.
Isolate, maintain, and expand primary T cells from PBMCs and Jurkat cell lines using aseptic techniques.
Execute high-throughput binder screening and multi-color flow cytometry (FACS) to assess surface expression and phenotypic markers; analyze data using FlowJo.
Conduct T-cell activation and functional assays, including cytotoxicity assays (IncuCyte live-cell imaging/LDH release), cytokine profiling (ELISA/MSD/Luminex), and proliferation assays (CFSE).
Record protocols, deviations, raw data, and experimental results accurately in an Electronic Lab Notebook (ELN) to support data integrity and regulatory filings.
Support screening scale-up using liquid-handling robotics, as applicable.