Scientist - Protein Production

Helix Biostructures•Indianapolis, IN

6d•Onsite

About The Position

Helix BioStructures, LLC (HBS) is a contract research organization (CRO) based in Indianapolis, Indiana, providing early drug discovery services to the biopharmaceutical industry. HBS maintains a full suite of services that encompass chemical & structural analysis, protein production, computational modeling, and design. HBS’s core and most popular services are structural biology imaging techniques: X-ray Crystallography and Cryo-EM. HBS was founded in 2018 and has grown considerably. We are looking to add a Scientist focused on protein production to join our Indianapolis-based team. This scientist will support our protein production pipeline by expressing and purifying recombinant proteins in bacterial, insect, and mammalian systems; performing biophysical characterization to assess sample quality and stability; developing and optimizing expression and purification protocols; interfacing with our clients; and writing technical project reports. The scientist will also contribute to improving expression and purification methods to accelerate research processes. This scientist will employ a range of experimental methods (biochemical, biophysical, and/or computational) to support our clients’ structure-based drug discovery, antibody discovery, and/or protein engineering. Accordingly, proficiency in recombinant protein expression and purification and a passion for generating high-quality, well-characterized protein reagents are essential. Any structural biology experience (X-ray crystallography or Cryo-EM) is a plus, but is not required for this role. The successful candidate will be a strong technical contributor who can execute reliably at the bench and collaborate with colleagues on multiple projects in parallel. This role is open to candidates ranging from entry-level to experienced scientists; the level of hire, scope, and degree of independence will be determined by the candidate’s experience and qualifications, with the opportunity to help drive discovery projects from inception through early development. Express and purify proteins to target quality and yield within industrial timeframes. Document experimental data and communicate research priorities, progress, and results with clients/project teams. Provide technical and scientific input to project teams, with the scope of guidance to other members of the Protein Sciences group, scaling with seniority and experience. The candidate will be responsible for timely updates on project statuses, reporting to their supervisor informally and to Helix’s customers by formal report writing and oral presentations.

Requirements

Ph.D. in biochemistry, biophysics, molecular biology, protein engineering, or a related field; OR a Master’s degree with 2–5 years of relevant industrial experience; OR a Bachelor’s degree with 5–10 years of relevant industrial experience.
Demonstrated competency in recombinant protein expression and purification using bacterial, insect, and mammalian cell lines; hands-on experience across all three systems is strongly preferred.
Ability to generate and characterize milligram to gram quantities of high-quality protein reagents for downstream studies.
Experience with standard analytical and biophysical techniques (e.g., SDS-PAGE, SEC, Western Blot, TSA, DLS, Mass Spectrometry, and others) for assessing protein quality, purity, and stability during purification.
Strong written and oral communication skills.
Able to adhere to safe work practices and perform lab work with appropriate personal protective equipment, such as but not limited to safety goggles, facial mask, gloves, lab coat/ protective gowning, and closed-toe shoes.
Able to work at flexible hours occasionally when performing time-sensitive experiments.

Nice To Haves

Hands-on experience in engineering protein constructs and optimizing the production of protein targets for structural and functional studies.
Experience in structural biology is a plus but not required, including protein X-ray crystallography (sample assessment, crystallization, optimization, data collection, and structure determination/refinement) and familiarity with software such as Phenix, CCP4, Coot, and PyMOL.
Experience with protein engineering and/or design approaches.
Analysis, design, and/or computational approaches to investigate ligand-protein complexes.
Experience with Cryo-EM is a plus, especially grid vitrification and screening.
Excellent communication, interpersonal, and organizational skills.
Willingness to tackle challenging technical problems.

Responsibilities

Expressing and purifying recombinant proteins in bacterial, insect, and mammalian systems
Performing biophysical characterization to assess sample quality and stability
Developing and optimizing expression and purification protocols
Interfacing with clients
Writing technical project reports
Improving expression and purification methods to accelerate research processes
Express and purify proteins to target quality and yield within industrial timeframes
Document experimental data and communicate research priorities, progress, and results with clients/project teams
Provide technical and scientific input to project teams, with the scope of guidance to other members of the Protein Sciences group, scaling with seniority and experience
Responsible for timely updates on project statuses, reporting to their supervisor informally and to Helix’s customers by formal report writing and oral presentations