Senior Scientist - Protein Expression and Purification

LabGenius; Greater London; Presencial; GBP 90.000 - 135.000; Jornada completa

Ventajas ofrecidas por este puesto de trabajo

Discretionary bonus

Equity stock options

Pension plan 5% company contribution

Life insurance

Descripción de la vacante

LabGenius is seeking a PhD-level protein sciences expert to lead expression and purification workflows for our antibody assets. You will build and scale our CHO-based production, establish stable cell lines, and ensure high-quality reagents for ML-driven screening.

You will troubleshoot bottlenecks, optimize gene-to-protein workflows, and coordinate with wet-lab and data teams to deliver robust, scalable expression solutions at multi-milligram to gram scales.

Formación

• PhD in Biochemistry, Bioengineering, Molecular Biology, or MSc with 3–5 years industrial wet-lab experience.
• Hands-on mastery of mammalian cell culture techniques, especially CHO and HEK for transient expression and stable pools.
• Proven track record in molecular cloning and large-scale DNA production for transfections.
• Extensive experience with FPLC systems (AKTA) and protein biochemistry.
• Ability to design and implement new lab infrastructure and gene-to-protein workflows.
• Willingness to learn new skills and work in a multidisciplinary team.
• Ability to communicate complex protein production data to non-experts.
• Strong organizational and time-management skills.
• Experience with digital inventory management and barcoding of samples and cell banks.
• Self-motivated with a positive attitude and impact-driven approach.
• Experience working in a multidisciplinary business context.

Responsabilidades

• Lead transient expression of complex recombinant proteins in mammalian hosts at multi‑mg to g scales.
• Oversee cloning and large-scale DNA production to support transfections and stable lines.
• Establish and validate stable CHO cell pools for lead antibodies.
• Design and execute multi-step purification strategies using AKTA systems (Affinity, IEX, HIC, SEC).
• Implement inventory management and barcoding for end-to-end traceability.
• Collaborate with Data Science to convert expression and purity data into ML-friendly datasets.
• Troubleshoot low-yielding constructs and optimise signal peptides, vectors, and host lines.
• Maintain meticulous experimental records for cross-functional teams.
• Balance priorities to deliver on timelines.

Conocimientos

Mammalian cell culture

Protein expression

Molecular cloning

DNA production

FPLC AKTA

Data interpretation

Project management

Educación

PhD in Biochemistry

PhD in Bioengineering

PhD in Molecular Biology

MSc with 3–5 years wet-lab experience

Herramientas

AKTA FPLC

Descripción del empleo

At LabGenius Therapeutics ("LabGenius"), our mission is to discover the next generation of therapeutic antibodies by combining human and machine intelligence. To do this, we’ve pioneered the development of EVA™, state-of-the‑art automated platform, enabling the closed-loop discovery of high-performing, non-intuitive antibody designs using proprietary, ML-grade datasets.

For our wholly-owned therapeutic pipeline, we’re using our closed-loop discovery engine to establish a pipeline of highly selective T-cell engagers and ADCs for the treatment of solid tumours.

LabGenius has raised >£55M and is backed by top-tier investors, including M Ventures, Octopus Ventures, LG Corp, Atomico, Kindred Capital, Lux Capital and Obvious Ventures amongst others.

The company is headquartered in London (UK) where we’ve established a cutting-edge antibody engineering facility. The company is staffed by a multidisciplinary team of more than 50 scientists and engineers.

You’ll be a pivotal member of the Antibody Engineering and Developability team, serving as our technical lead for protein expression and purification. This is a high-impact opportunity for a protein sciences expert to not only execute complex workflows, but to build, scale, and optimise our protein expression platform, including spearheading the establishment of our stable cell line capabilities.

Your primary mission is to ensure that our ML models and downstream screening platforms are fed with high-quality, ultra-pure protein and antibody reagents. You won't just be running samples; you will be spearheading our initiative to establish stable cell pools in CHO while managing the entire gene-to-protein workflow from cloning and large-scale DNA production through to final purification.

You’ll be a member of our core wet-lab team, where you’ll ensure that complex therapeutic candidates can be produced reliably and at scale. You won't just be expressing proteins; you’ll be troubleshooting complex constructs, identifying expression bottlenecks early in the pipeline, and ensuring our therapeutics possess the developability profiles required to become successful products.

Whatever your previous experience includes, you’ll inject passion and energy into everything you do. You’ll enjoy multi-disciplinary work, and you’ll have a hunger for knowledge, learning, and growth; all the qualities LabGenius Therapeutics celebrates!

Your role at LabGenius Therapeutics will be varied, with clear communication being critical to your day-to-day interactions with the team. Being able to integrate your workflow with other teams, along with the ability to share findings in an articulate manner, will help you to achieve success within this position.

This position is a full time laboratory-based role.

What you’ll do in this role

• Lead the transient expression of complex recombinant proteins, bispecifics, and fusion proteins in mammalian hosts at multi-milligram to gram scales.

• Oversee molecular cloning, construct design, and large-scale plasmid DNA production workflows to support both transient transfections and stable cell line generation.

• Establish internal stable cell line capabilities, specifically establishing and validating stable cell pools in CHO hosts for the production of lead antibody candidates.

• Design and execute multi‑step purification strategies utilising automated FPLC systems (e.g., AKTA Pure) focusing on Affinity, IEX, HIC, and SEC.

• Implement and manage robust inventory management and barcoding systems to ensure end‑to‑end traceability of plasmids, cell lines, purified proteins, and critical reagents.

• Work closely with our Data Science team to translate raw expression yields, purity metrics, and biophysical data into clean datasets for ML/AI predictive models, ensuring our in silico scoring is grounded in precise physical measurements.

• Conduct research in a self‑directed manner, troubleshooting low‑yielding or challenging protein constructs by optimising signal peptides, expression vectors, or host cell lines to provide actionable insights to the engineering team.

• Keep excellent experimental/data records for cross‑functional teamwork and project learnings.

• Organise and manage your time effectively, balancing competing priorities based on business goals and the focus of your wider team, to deliver to timelines where others are relying on you.

What we’re looking for

• You have a PhD in Biochemistry, Bioengineering, Molecular Biology, or an MSc with 3-5 years of industrial experience with significant wet‑lab expertise in protein expression and purification techniques. Any relevant biotech or pharma experience is a distinct advantage.

• Deep, hands‑on mastery of mammalian cell culture techniques, with mandatory expertise in CHO and HEK cell lines for both transient expression and stable pool generation.

• A proven track record in molecular cloning, vector optimisation, and high‑quality, large‑scale DNA production for transfections.

• Extensive hands‑on experience with FPLC systems (AKTA) and a sophisticated understanding of protein biochemistry, folding, and degradation pathways.

• The ability to generate and implement new ideas, specifically in the context of setting up new lab infrastructure and optimising gene‑to‑protein workflows.

• You’re comfortable with challenging yourself and acquiring unfamiliar scientific skills and knowledge.

• Ability to articulate complex protein production data to non‑experts, including computational biologists and stakeholders.

• You have excellent organisational and time management skills, with demonstrated ability to prioritise, define timelines and deliver to these commitments.

• Hands‑on experience with digital laboratory inventory management systems and barcoding workflows to maintain meticulous tracking of samples, cell banks, and reagents.

• You’re self‑motivated with a strong desire to make an impact, and bring a positive attitude to everything you do.

• Experience in a business context, working as part of a multidisciplinary team.

What you’ll receive from us

Aside from being part of our brilliant, purpose‑driven team, you’ll also enjoy:

Financial

• Bonus: Discretionary, performance‑linked bonus scheme.

• Equity: Generous stock option plan.

• Pension: 5% company contribution, plus an extra top‑up on our tax savings.

• Financial Security: 3x salary Life Assurance and Income Protection.

Health & Wellness

• Private Medical Insurance: Fully comprehensive healthcare through AXA, including optical and dental coverage.

• Health Cashback: Health Shield plan to claim back everyday health expenses.

• Everyday Care: 24/7 digital access to GP services.

• Fitness: Discounted gym memberships via AXA or Health Shield.

• Commute: Cycle to Work scheme for a cheaper, greener, and healthier commute.

Time-Off

• Annual Leave: 25 days paid holiday plus bank holidays.

• Life Events: 1 paid day off for moving home, plus dedicated compassionate and emergency leave.

• Sick Pay: Comprehensive paid sick leave.

Wellbeing & Culture

• Mental Health Support: Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) with direct access to coaching and CBT sessions.

• Weekly Team Lunches: Free lunches delivered weekly via Feedr.

• Socials: A regular schedule of company‑wide and team‑specific social events.

Diversity & Inclusion