Senior Scientist, Strain Engineering

Sutro Biopharma • South San Francisco, CA

8h • $155,000 - $168,000 • Onsite

About The Position

Sutro Biopharma, Inc. is seeking an energetic and talented individual to join the multidisciplinary Protein Biochemistry group within the Research Department and drive the research activities of the strain engineering program. This role involves working to understand and improve the performance of a novel prokaryotic system for biosynthesis of secreted mammalian proteins by designing and executing experiments on protein expression, downstream processing, and analysis. Responsibilities extend from gene design through strain characterization, pilot scale protein expression and processing, and analysis of expressed protein product. The successful candidate will design and validate protein expression appropriate to the scale, number-of-samples, and required purity level for the given project, and will implement appropriate assays to characterize product and to better understand the technology and process. Additionally, the candidate will interface with external collaborators, make presentations to internal and external collaborators and senior management, and author internal and external publications. Sutro Biopharma, Inc. is advancing a next-generation antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) platform designed to deliver single- and dual-payload ADCs that enable meaningful breakthroughs for patients with cancer. By fully optimizing the antibody, linker, and payload, Sutro’s cell-free platform produces ADCs that are engineered to improve drug exposure, reduce side effects, and expand the range of treatable tumor types. With unique capabilities in dual-payload ADCs, Sutro aims to overcome treatment resistance and redefine what’s possible in cancer therapy. The Company’s pipeline of single- and dual-payload ADCs targets large oncology markets with limited treatment options and significant need for improved therapies.

Requirements

• Ph.D. in Biochemistry or a related discipline with at least 5 years of experience
• Hands-on experience working with small-scale bioreactors is required
• Experience working with in vivo protein expression required
• Familiarity with molecular biology techniques including cloning, PCR, gene knock-ins and knock-outs
• Proficiency with common protein analytical techniques including SDS-PAGE, Western blotting and ELISA

Nice To Haves

• Experience optimizing and evaluating prokaryotic protein expression strains using plasmid transformation, lambda-red recombination and shake flask or bioreactor overexpression preferred
• Experience working with antibodies or antibody fragments preferred
• Familiarity with statistical analysis software for design of experiments, such as JMP
• Familiarity with sequence analysis software, such as SnapGene

Responsibilities

• Help develop Sutro’s prokaryotic protein expression platforms
• Perform molecular biology including cloning, PCR, generating gene knock-ins and knock-outs
• Screen new strains for growth, protein expression and product quality in shake flasks
• Evaluate strain performance in small-scale bioreactors through fed-batch or continuous fermentation
• Conduct mid-stream processing including harvest, cell lysis, clarification, and filtration
• Perform strain banking activities including Development Cell Bank production
• Coordinate early stage E. coli product testing
• Interface with DSP and analytical groups within Sutro
• Manage external collaborations with vendors such as Genscript or InfinixBio required for strain engineering activities

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree
• Number of Employees: 101-250 employees