Research Associate - Biosensing

Convergent Research; Pasadena (CA); On-site; USD 65,000 - 95,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401k match up to 6%

Health benefits

Paid time off

Company holidays

Job summary

Melody FRO, LLC in Pasadena, CA, is seeking a Research Associate to join the bioelectronics foundry. You will evolve and test protein biosensors, design DNA constructs, and run biophysical assays alongside chemistry and device engineering teams.

We value hands-on wet-lab biology, strong record-keeping, and collaboration to scale assays into repeatable workflows. Salary ranges from $65,000 to $95,000 per year with benefits.

Qualifications

• BA or BS in biology, chemistry, physics or related field.
• 2+ years of wet-lab bench experience with protein engineering or biophysical assays.
• Demonstrated precision in experimental work and project management.

Responsibilities

• Express and purify engineered binders and biosensors.
• Design, order, and prepare DNA constructs, mutant libraries, and binder-reporter variants.
• Run fluorescence, plate-reader, biochemical, biophysical, and novel device-based assays.
• Generate dose-response curves and quantify EC50/Kd, dynamic range, signal-to-noise, selectivity, kinetics, reversibility, stability, and drift.
• Support yeast display, FACS-based screening, and directed evolution workflows.
• Interface biosensors with optical and electrochemical readouts on benchtop hardware.
• Help automate assay workflows using liquid handlers, plate readers, and custom scripts.
• Maintain clean records of constructs, samples, sequence-function relationships, assay metadata, instrument settings, and experimental results.
• Collaborate with scientists and engineers to turn one-off assays into repeatable workflows that scale to the needs of the platform.

Skills

Wet lab experience

Protein engineering

Biophysical assays

Python/R scripting

Lab automation

DNA constructs

Yeast display

FACS screening

Education

BA/BS in biology or related field

Tools

Liquid handling robots

Plate readers

Fluorescence assays

Biophysical instrumentation

DNA sequence tools

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 Research Associate to work with the scientific team to build and run Melody’s bioelectronics foundry. You will be responsible for evolving and testing new protein biosensors. Your work will involve molecular biology, liquid handling robotics, and novel hardware developed by the team for running biophysical assays. You will work closely with the chemistry and device engineering teams to move biosensor candidates from DNA constructs to purified proteins, screening data, device-relevant assays, and quantitative performance measurements.

You may excel in this role if you

Enjoy using an engineering mindset in wet lab biology, developing an intuition of how proteins behave from hands-on work, and working in a team-setting to pioneer new methods. Specifically you will:

• Express and purify engineered binders and biosensors.
• Design, order, and prepare DNA constructs, mutant libraries, and binder-reporter variants.
• Run fluorescence, plate-reader, biochemical, biophysical, and novel device-based assays.
• Generate dose-response curves and quantify EC50/Kd, dynamic range, signal-to-noise, selectivity, kinetics, reversibility, stability, and drift.
• Support yeast display, FACS-based screening, and directed evolution workflows.
• Interface biosensors with optical and electrochemical readouts on benchtop hardware.
• Help automate assay workflows using liquid handlers, plate readers, and custom scripts.
• Maintain clean records of constructs, samples, sequence-function relationships, assay metadata, instrument settings, and experimental results.
• Collaborate with scientists and engineers to turn one-off assays into repeatable workflows that scale to the needs of the platform.

Required Qualifications

• BA or BS in biology, chemistry, physics or other relevant field.
• 2+ years experience in wet lab bench involving protein engineering or biophysical assays.
• Demonstrated precision in experimental work and project management.

Preferred Qualifications

• Extensive knowledge of biophysical methods and associated instrumentation for thermodynamics and kinetics measurements.
• Ability to write custom scripts in Python/R for data analysis
• Experience with lab automation techniques including liquid handling robots.
• Experience with biomaterial preparation and protein functionalization chemistry.
• Familiarity with industry standards in protein and device engineering.

$65,000 - $95,000 a year

Salary leveled based on experience and fit.

We offer

• 401k match up to 6% of base salary.
• Excellent health, vision, and dental benefits.
• Paid time off and company holidays.

Melody FRO, LLC is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer that proudly pursues and hires a diverse workforce. We do not make hiring or employment decisions on the basis of race, color, religion or religious belief, ethnic or national origin, nationality, sex, gender, gender-identity, sexual orientation, disability, age, military or veteran status, or any other basis protected by applicable local, state, or federal laws or prohibited by Company policy. We strive for a healthy and safe workplace and strictly prohibit harassment of any kind.