Autonomous Protein Purification & QC Research Associate

Medra; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 65,000 - 95,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity ownership

401k

Medical and dental insurance

Unlimited PTO

Weekday dinners

Relocation assistance

Job summary

Medra is building an autonomous life science platform. We seek a Research Associate to run cell culture, purification, and QC workflows that translate antibodies and binders into purified material.

You’ll operate AKTA/FPLC, KingFisher, and analytical SEC, while developing robust, automated processes under experienced scientists. You will work closely with roboticists and software engineers to enable autonomous execution, data pipelines, and reproducibility.

Qualifications

• BS/MS in biochemistry, molecular biology, chemical/biological engineering, or related discipline with hands-on lab experience (research/internship)
• Hands-on protein purification experience—AKTA/FPLC and bead-based purification
• Wet-lab bench experience in mammalian cell culture, aseptic technique, pipetting, and protocol execution
• Curiosity about protein biochemistry and analytical characterization; eagerness to learn theory and practical pitfalls
• Strong documentation habits, attention to detail, ability to multitask
• Basic understanding of antibody structure/function, or willingness to learn
• Scrappy, can-do attitude; problem-solving mindset

Responsibilities

• Run automated mammalian cell growth and transfection for recombinant protein expression, including cell maintenance and expansion
• Perform protein purification on AKTA/FPLC and KingFisher platforms—affinity capture, polishing, buffer exchange
• Execute analytical QC by SEC (UPLC/HPLC) to assess purity, aggregation, and monomericity
• Prepare buffers, resins, columns, and consumables; maintain instruments and perform cleaning/qualification
• Translate manual purification and QC steps into reliable, high-throughput autonomous protocols with data integration
• Perform first-pass data analysis on chromatograms and SEC traces; track yield and flag anomalies
• Maintain rigorous ELN records and support reproducibility across batches

Skills

Protein purification

AKTA/FPLC chromatography

Mammalian cell culture

Aseptic technique

Pipetting

Data analysis

Documentation

Curiosity about protein biochemistry

Python/R scripting

Bead-based purification

Education

B.S./M.S. in biochemistry or related field

Tools

AKTA/FPLC

KingFisher

UPLC/HPLC

Job description

Medra is building an autonomous life science platform. We seek a Research Associate to run cell culture, purification, and QC workflows that translate antibodies and binders into purified material.

You’ll operate AKTA/FPLC, KingFisher, and analytical SEC, while developing robust, automated processes under experienced scientists. You will work closely with roboticists and software engineers to enable autonomous execution, data pipelines, and reproducibility.