Scientist, Molecular Biology

Flagship Pioneering, Inc.•Cambridge, MA

4h•$100,000 - $143,000

About The Position

We are building a new venture, FL122, with the mission of reducing the risk of polygenic disease in children born through In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). The company was founded by Flagship Pioneering, an innovative enterprise that conceives, creates, resources, and grows first-in-category life sciences companies. Flagship Pioneering has created over 100 groundbreaking companies over the past twenty years, all of which are pioneering novel and proprietary biological, industrial, and engineering approaches to solve major needs in human health and sustainability. These companies include Moderna (MRNA), Generate Biomedicines, Tessera Therapeutics, and Quotient Therapeutics. We are an equal opportunity employer. We are seeking a Molecular Biologist to help build the experimental foundation of the company’s scientific platform. As an early scientific team member, you will contribute to the development of core protocols, support the establishment of technical standards, and help execute the experimental strategy, working closely with senior scientists and leadership. We are looking for someone who is resourceful, is open to a rapidly changing, agile environment and has bias to action. The ideal candidate combines deep technical rigor with a growth mindset, pays attention to detail, and has a deep-rooted desire to achieve excellence. Being collaborative is key – the environment is an early stage startup, where all members of the team need to work closely together to break new ground in science.

Requirements

Ph.D. in biology, molecular biology, genetics or a related discipline with 0–2+ years of postdoctoral or industry experience, with an excellent research track record
Hands-on experience in the handling of minute amounts of nucleic acids, including rigorous QC and troubleshooting of low-input workflows
Experience testing and optimizing single cell RNA sequencing methods end-to-end, including library quantification and QC (e.g., yield, size distribution, complexity)
Demonstrated ability to execute and troubleshoot complex experiments independently, with increasing ownership over time
Comfort operating in fast-moving, ambiguous startup environments with a collaborative mindset and willingness to take initiative

Responsibilities

Deliver molecular biology research projects with guidance from senior team members, including experimental execution, troubleshooting, data analysis and clear communication of results
Support the implementation of appropriate instrumentation, reagents, and consistent workflows to enable scalable and reliable experimental operations
Handle and process human biospecimen, specifically human sperm cells, in a BSL2 setting with rigorous adherence to quality and reproducibility standards
Contribute to the development, optimization, and benchmarking of workflows for extracting and quantifying minute amounts of nucleic acids from single cells and other low-input samples
Test, compare and implement multiple single cell RNA sequencing methods, including library quantification and QC required for Illumina sequencing
Collaborate with internal team members and contribute to interactions with external advisors, incorporating feedback into experimental plans