Protein Engineer

Protocol Labs, Inc.; Pasadena (TX); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Protocol Labs, Inc. is seeking a protein engineer to create biosensors and interfaces for real-time molecular sensing. You will design new constructs, guide wet lab screening, and collaborate with hardware teams and external collaborators to advance the technology.

The role emphasizes independent ideation, experience in protein design, and the ability to mentor junior scientists while coordinating across CRO partners and academic collaborators.

Qualifications

• PhD in a relevant science or engineering field with demonstrated strong independent ideation and execution.
• BS/MS with extensive industry experience >5 years.

Responsibilities

• Design new constructs and guide wet lab screening.
• Mentor and manage junior scientists and collaborate with external partners.
• Set up de novo design and directed evolution workflows for our foundry.
• Design and validate biosensor scaffolds against ions, small molecules, and peptides.
• Integrate experimental feedback from devices and revamp design workflow.

Skills

Protein engineering

De novo design

Directed evolution

Bioelectronics interfaces

Molecule design

Python scripting

Education

PhD in relevant science/engineering

BS/MS with 5+ years industry experience

Job description

Melody is an early-stage focused research organization engineering continuous molecular monitoring technology and designing closed-loop interventions for human health. We leverage protein engineering, medical device engineering, and physiology modeling. As a FRO, we uniquely bridge blue-sky science and hardcore manufacturing and pioneer new applications.

We are a nonprofit startup based in Pasadena, founded by scientists and engineers from Janelia and Caltech and incubated by Convergent Research. Our goal is to produce public goods: biosensors, devices, datasets, protocols, and tools that help launch a broader field of real-time molecular medicine.

About the role

we are hiring a protein engineer to create new biosensors composed of allosteric switches, signal transduction motifs (e.g., linkers), reporter proteins, site-specific chemical modifications, and bioelectronic interfaces. The engineer will design new constructs, guide wet lab screening, and work with the hardware team to select performant constructs. You will also mentor and manage junior scientists and work with Melody’s outside academic collaborators and CRO partners.

You may excel in this role if you enjoy creating new molecules from scratch and working with target product profiles. Ideal candidates will be able to manage both open-ended searches in protein space while working with the engineering team on performance optimization.

What success looks like

In 3 months - set up de novo design and directed evolution workflows for our foundry.

In 6 months - design and validate your own biosensor scaffolds against ions, small molecules, and peptides.

In 15 months - integrate experimental feedback from devices and revamp design workflow.

Required Qualifications

Strength in one self-identified track: (a) experimental-first - where your strengths and approaches rely on mining naturally occurring motifs, using chemical intuition to design sensors, and experimental testing to effectively select candidates OR (b) computation-first where your strengths and approaches rely on de novo design methods (reducing the number and breadth of experimental loops).

Structural biology and biophysics competency related to optical and electrophysiological measurements.

PhD in a relevant science and engineering field with demonstrated strong independent ideation and execution or BS/MS with extensive industry experience > 5 years.

Quantitative judgment for designing experiments under real-world constraints, matching roadmap goals to instrument capabilities and lab throughput.

Demonstrated precision in experimental work and scientific project management.

Strong technical communication skills across the relevant scientific fields and teams.

Preferred Qualifications

3+ years industry experience in protein design and selection.

Ability to write custom scripts for data analysis and interfacing with lab instruments.

Working ability in both experimental methods and computational tools for protein design.

Conceptual command of allostery and protein dynamics.

Conceptual command of the electronic nose field.

2+ years of team management and mentoring experience. We are especially interested in those with a track record of coordinating across chemists, materials scientists, hardware engineers, software/data scientists, vendors, and academic collaborators.