Scientist (Molecular Diagnostics), DxD Hub

A*STAR RESEARCH ENTITIES; Singapore; On-site; SGD 90,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

DxD Hub at A*STAR RESEARCH ENTITIES seeks a highly motivated scientist to lead molecular diagnostics development, focusing on NGS-based clinical assays. You will collaborate with clinical and commercial teams to deliver regulated, impactful diagnostic solutions and manage end-to-end assay development in a regulated environment.

The role requires 3–5 years hands-on experience in molecular assay development, proficiency with NGS platforms, and strong data analysis skills.

Qualifications

• Education in molecular biology, genomics, biochemistry, or related field.
• 3–5 years hands-on experience in molecular assay development.
• Experience with NGS technologies and clinical/laboratory settings.
• Strong foundation in experimental design, troubleshooting, and workflow optimization.
• Familiarity with regulatory/quality standards for diagnostics.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to project scoping and proposals with clinical workflow insight.
• Design and oversee molecular test assay development, validation, and regulatory alignment.
• Manage technical development timelines and troubleshooting.
• Curate study results data and perform downstream analysis for diagnostic applications.
• Present progress to internal and external stakeholders and coordinate collaborations.
• Mentor junior scientists and manage lab operations, SOPs, and quality records.

Skills

Molecular biology

Cell biology

Biochemistry

Genomics

Assay development

NGS technologies

Analytical verification

Clinical validation

Experimental design

Data analysis

Regulatory understanding

SOP & quality systems

Education

Bachelor’s/Master’s in Molecular Biology or Genomics

Tools

Illumina

Oxford Nanopore

PacBio

Nextflow

Snakemake

CWl

Job description

DxD Hub is seeking a highly motivated scientist to join the Molecular Diagnostics team, focused on developing regulated clinical diagnostic products and services, especially in nucleic acid-based testing, such as but not limited to molecular approaches like next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based diagnostic assays. The successful candidate will lead the development of innovative workflows for clinical applications and work closely with clinical and commercial stakeholders to deliver successful and impactful solutions.

Key Responsibilities

• Contribute to project scoping and preparing of project proposals with in-depth understanding in clinical workflow, clinical unmet needs, technology value proposition, economic value capture, clinical deployment, and product commercialization pathway.
• Contribute to molecular test assay method development, analytical verification and clinical validation study design, planning and execution in compliance with regulatory and quality standards.
• Responsible for technical development timeline and troubleshooting.
• Contribute to the study results data curation and data analysis for downstream molecular test assay application.
• Responsible for presentation of progress, findings, and solutions to internal and external stakeholders.
• Responsible for prompt support and communications with internal and external collaborators.
• Contribute to clinical study design and clinical trial in regulated diagnostic product settings.
• Contribute to product landscape study on safety dossier and technical note approved by regulators.
• Responsible for mentoring junior scientists and refresher on the latest technology development and product landscape.
• Manage and perform lab operations activities, including general laboratory and equipment housekeeping and qualifications, and consumables purchasing.
• Responsible for good record-keeping and standard operating procedures (SOPs) implementation in accordance with confidential information requirement, quality system and regulatory guidelines.

Requirements

• Education in Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, Biochemistry, Genomics, Biotechnology, or a related field.

• 3-5 years of hands-on experience in molecular assay development, preferably in industrial, diagnostics or clinical laboratory setting using NGS technologies.
• Laboratory skills in pre-analytical and analytical techniques, including extensive knowledge and hands‑on experience in molecular techniques and platforms including, but not limited to, nucleic acid extraction, NGS library preparation, target enrichment, PCR/qPCR and sequencing.
• Strong scientific foundation, demonstrated critical thinking abilities, and proven experience applying first‑principles methodology.
• Strong background in experimental design, troubleshooting, and optimization of laboratory workflows.
• Competent with NGS platforms (e.g. Illumina, Oxford Nanopore, PacBio) and associated data analysis tools.
• Knowledgeable with bioinformatics tools and pipelines for NGS data analysis, variant calling, RNA sequencing analysis, interpretation and annotation of result.
• Knowledge of bioinformatics workflow languages such as Nextflow, Snakemake and Common Workflow Language (CWL) is advantageous.
• Familiarity with regulatory and quality standards for diagnostic assay development e.g. ISO13485is advantageous.

The above eligibility criteria are not exhaustive. A*STAR may include additional selection criteria based on its prevailing recruitment policies. These policies may be amended from time to time without notice. We regret that only shortlisted candidates will be notified.