Scientist, In-Vivo Large Construct Integration

Neion Bio•New York, NY

15h•$110,000 - $150,000

About The Position

Neion Bio is harnessing nature’s best molecular factory, the chicken egg, to make medicine affordable, accessible, and resilient. Using cutting edge genetic engineering and stem cell technology, we create “living bioreactors”, which act as fully autonomous 3D biomolecular printers, operating on existing industrial-scale infrastructure. Our platform can rapidly and scalably produce almost any protein, provide national resilience to drug shortages and de-risk complex supply chains, and ultimately take advantage of novel biological environments to solve unmet medical needs. We are on a mission to reimagine the way in which complex biological molecules are produced to transform human health. At Neion Bio you will play a pivotal role in an early-stage, fast-growing company, working alongside leading scientists and entrepreneurs. You will have the opportunity to participate in the enormous potential upside while having a huge impact on the world. We are looking for a talented scientist with knowledge and passion for ambitious synthetic biology projects and advanced genome engineering for biomanufacturing in living vertebrates. We will be building tools and methodologies for in-vivo vertebrate genome engineering, and will develop workflows to manipulate large DNA fragments and genomes. You will work with a talented group of engineers and biologists committed to developing disruptive, novel protein production technologies. We are specifically looking for a scientist experienced with in vivo delivery and integration of multi-Kb transgenes, and experienced with large serine recombinases.

Requirements

PhD/MS in synthetic biology, bioengineering, molecular biology, genetics or related field is required, or 3+ years hands-on expertise in genomic manipulation and cell biology
Understanding and extensive hands-on experience with current precision editing techniques, covering the design, optimization and verification of edits made with CRISPR-Cas9/HDR and Prime Editing
Hands-on experience with recombinases and integrases, or other large construct integration methods
Experience with in-vivo delivery of large payloads for genomic integration
Experience with avian or mammalian cell culture, DNA/RNA transfection, bacterial culture, recombinant DNA cloning techniques, primer design and PCR, qPCR, gel electrophoresis, nucleic acid extraction and purification
Self-motivated, proactive, works well under pressure and deadlines, detail-oriented
Enthusiasm for learning new skills and taking on new responsibilities
Strong written and oral communication skills, as well as creative problem-solving skills
Strong emotional intelligence and passion for building relationships across all levels of an organization.
Enjoys the fast-paced startup environment and teamwork

Nice To Haves

High throughput screening experience or automation methods
Experience with viral vector design, optimization and use
Experience with -omics based analysis of cells culture
Experience with development of gene therapy tools
Experience with flow cytometry, immunostaining, and fluorescent microscopy
Experience with dPCR and/or NGS library preparation

Responsibilities

Innovate and iterate on Neion Bio’s transgenic animal platform
Develop and improve methods for DNA assembly, integration, editing, screening
Develop and validate novel vertebrate genetic engineering approaches
Assist in building and optimizing molecular and cellular tools for DNA/RNA delivery and perform high-throughput screens of these tools, including LNPs, VLPs, AAVs, lenti- and adenoviral vectors, electroporation and/or chemical transfection in cell culture, organ explants, live embryos and animals
Characterize and quantify genome editing events using various molecular assays
Analyze data, generate figures, report results.
Present findings at R&D meetings
Maintain a thorough and detailed electronic lab notebook
Maintain a clean and organized laboratory environment