Sr Research Scientist I, Biologics Discovery

The Biologics Discovery group in Protein Therapeutics is seeking a highly motivated Senior Research Scientist I to join our state-of-the-art research facility at Gilead Sciences in Foster City, CA. The Biologics Discovery group is responsible for the discovery and design of large molecule therapeutic drug candidates.

The successful candidate will have wet lab experience in molecular biology and next-generation sequencing, and preferably expertise in computational analysis of NGS data sets. In this role, the Senior Research Scientist I will work independently on projects employing NGS-based methods and emerging technologies to discover target-specific antibodies, leveraging multiple workflows (single B cell antibody discovery, display-based discovery). The incumbent will be part of a multidisciplinary team with capabilities in de novo antibody discovery, protein engineering, and characterization of large molecule candidates.

Responsibilities

• Drive antibody discovery for all therapeutics areas (oncology, inflammation, fibrosis and virology) at Gilead Sciences.
• To enable internal biologics program goals, develop and optimize wet lab and computational methods to probe and analyze B cell immunoglobulin variable region sequences from single B cells or display libraries.
• Integrate and analyze multidimensional data sets that include antibody hypervariable regions, antibody binding characteristics, epitope binning, functional activities, and developability characteristics.
• Act as a scientific leader driving innovation, leading projects and teams, and solving complex technical problems.
• To enable external biologics program goals, implement work orders with clear timelines, deliverables, milestones, and go no-go decision points
• Deliver scientific results for publications, patents, and regulatory submissions.

Basic Qualifications

PhD with 2+ years of industry experience, MS with 8+ years of scientific experience, BS with extensive years of scientific experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• A strong track record of research accomplishments in single-cell transcriptomics, preferably with a focus on BCR and/or TCR repertoire analysis.
• Hands-on experience in laboratory sequencing techniques for single cells.
• Implementation, adaptation, and optimization of computational algorithms to obtain and analyze deep sequencing data sets from single cells.
• Experience in managing projects at external collaborators and contract-research organizations.
• Experience in defining project goals, timelines and resource requirements.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, and ability to work flexibly in a dynamic and collaborative environment.
• A strong track record of independent critical thinking and scientific achievement in research, exemplified by publications in scientific journals, conference presentations or intellectual property filings.