Scientist - Protein Biochemist

Amgen • Thousand Oaks, CA

1d

About The Position

Join Amgen’s Mission of Serving Patients At Amgen, if you feel like you’re part of something bigger, it’s because you are. Our shared mission—to serve patients living with serious illnesses—drives all that we do. Since 1980, we’ve helped pioneer the world of biotech in our fight against the world’s toughest diseases. With our focus on four therapeutic areas –Oncology, Inflammation, General Medicine, and Rare Disease– we reach millions of patients each year. Amgen is advancing a broad and deep pipeline of medicines to treat cancer, heart disease, inflammatory conditions, rare diseases, and obesity and obesity-related conditions. As a member of the Amgen team, you’ll help make a lasting impact on the lives of patients as we research, manufacture, and deliver innovative medicines to help people live longer, fuller happier lives. Our award-winning culture is collaborative, innovative, and science based. If you have a passion for challenges and the opportunities that lay within them, you’ll thrive as part of the Amgen team. Join us and transform the lives of patients while transforming your career. Scientist – Protein Biochemist What you will do Let’s do this. Let’s change the world. In this vital role you will be responsible for designing, planning, and executing the generation of key enabling reagents that support the structure determination of target molecules via X-ray crystallography and/or cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM). You will collaborate closely with structural biologists within the group and contribute to advancing our drug discovery efforts. The ideal candidate must possess flexibility in applying their knowledge to new areas of study and have strong interpersonal and communication skills to thrive in a collaborative environment.

Requirements

• Doctorate degree OR Master’s degree and 2 years of Molecular, Structural Biology experience OR Bachelor’s degree and 4 years of Molecular, Structural Biology experience

Nice To Haves

• Experience with microbial systems (e.g., E. coli or yeast) or cell culture (mammalian or insect cells) for protein expression.
• Hands-on experience with biochemical analytical techniques such as spectrophotometry, SDS-PAGE, Western blot, SEC-MALS, SPR, and basic mass spectrometry.
• Familiarity with chromatography systems (e.g., Cytiva AKTA, Agilent HPLC) and related software.
• Expertise in protein purification methods, including affinity, ion exchange, hydrophobic interaction (HIC), and size-exclusion chromatography (SEC).
• Experience with biophysical characterization of protein complexes, including techniques like dynamic light scattering (DLS) and analytical ultracentrifugation (AUC).
• Experience with expression and purification of membrane proteins.
• Strong knowledge of protein stability, folding, and quality control for structural studies.
• Excellent presentation skills (written and oral) to effectively communicate research results to both scientific and cross-functional teams.
• Ability to work independently, manage multiple projects, and meet deadlines in a collaborative environment.
• Demonstrated ability to prioritize tasks and manage multiple projects efficiently.

Responsibilities

• Protein Biochemistry: Be actively involved in the design and execution of molecular cloning and protein expression strategies with the Amgen Discovery Protein Science team or CROs; design and execute purification strategies to support the structure determination of drug targets.
• Collaborative Support: Work closely with structural biologists to generate high-quality protein samples for structural biology techniques, particularly X-ray crystallography and cryo-EM.
• Method Development: Develop and optimize purification protocols and reagents, ensuring high protein purity, homogeneity, and stability for structural studies.
• Characterization and Quality Control: Use biochemical and biophysical techniques (e.g., SDS-PAGE, Western blot, spectrophotometry, SEC-MALS, SPR, mass spectrometry) to assess protein quality and stability. Collaborate with team members to provide mechanistic insights into the mechanism of action (MOA) of proteins involved in the associated proteins.
• Project Management: Manage multiple projects simultaneously, ensuring they are completed within timelines while meeting high-quality standards.
• Team Communication: Present research finds effectively in both written and oral formats for internal teams and external collaborators.
• Innovative Thinking: Continuously troubleshoot and optimize experimental workflows, applying creative solutions to overcome challenges in protein production and purification.

Benefits

• A comprehensive employee benefits package, including a Retirement and Savings Plan with generous company contributions, group medical, dental and vision coverage, life and disability insurance, and flexible spending accounts
• A discretionary annual bonus program, or for field sales representatives, a sales-based incentive plan
• Stock-based long-term incentives
• Award-winning time-off plans
• Flexible work models where possible.

What This Job Offers

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