Scientist (AAV)

R&D Partners; South San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 59,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance – comprehensive

401k plan

Employee Assistance Program

Long-term disability

Weekly payroll

Online timecard approval

Job summary

R&D Partners in South San Francisco, CA seeks a Scientist to accelerate LVV and AAV generation platforms, focusing on automating high-throughput workflows and improving production throughput for rapid screening and pipeline studies.

This 6-month contract involves implementing automated liquid handling, mini-scale bioreactors, and DOE-driven process development to optimize upstream/downstream operations and analytics for quality vectors.

Qualifications

• MS/PhD degree in Cell Biology, Molecular Biology, Virology, Biochemistry, Bioengineering, Genetics, or a related discipline.
• 3+ years of laboratory research or industrial experience.
• Proficient in mammalian cell culture and general molecular biology techniques such as transient plasmid transfection, PCR, qPCR, ddPCR, dPCR and Western blot.
• Require strong data analysis and presentation skills.
• Previous experience with ex vivo CAR T engineering using lentivirus is a must.
• Working experiences with lentivirus or AAV production in adherent or suspension cells, process development, statistical DOE modeling and automated liquid handling are highly desirable.
• Experience with flow cytometer operations, electronic notebook and BSL2 facility management are also strong plus.
• Must be self-motivated, detail-oriented, analytical, highly organized, and have excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

Responsibilities

• Integrate automation and high-throughput LVV and AAV workflows.
• Implement and program automated liquid handling systems for high-throughput transfection, transduction, sample dilution and cell seeding.
• Incorporate automated shaker arrays or micro-scale bioreactor platforms to run parallel expression runs.
• Troubleshoot liquid-class parameters, pipetting precision, and plasticware compatibility to minimize variation.
• Develop and optimize suspension-based LVV upstream production platform.
• Design, execute, and characterize robust upstream processes from seed train expansion through harvest.
• Apply Design of Experiments to explore multivariate interactions including transfection conditions and plasmid ratios to boost packaging efficiency.
• Develop and establish downstream LVV process.
• Evaluate and optimize low-shear depth filtration and microfiltration protocols for large-scale virus production.
• Develop and optimize ultrafiltration/diafiltration and chromatographic purification methodologies.
• Conduct analytics for LVV and AAV QC.
• Perform characterization of viral vectors to interpret quality attributes.
• Integrate QC in process development for rapid identification of improvement factors.
• Data, Inventory and Protocol Management: analyze multivariate datasets to facilitate project progression.
• Maintain virus inventory and registry using digital informatics platforms for data integrity.
• Author SOPs, technical reports and tech transfer protocols.
• Present data in group and department meetings.

Skills

Mammalian cell culture

Molecular biology techniques

Data analysis

DOE/experimental design

Team collaboration

Education

MS/PhD degree in Cell Biology or related

Tools

Integra Assist Plus

Bravo

Ambr 15

Ambr 250

Flow cytometer

Electronic notebook

Job description

We are hiring collaborative and driven Scientist to accelerate our biotechnology client's lentiviral vector (LVV) and adeno-associated virus (AAV) generation platforms. The primary objective of this engagement is to increase viral vector production throughput and yield to support rapid turnaround for screening and pipeline studies. This is an exciting opportunity to work with a cutting-edge research team, contribute to the development of innovative viral vector based therapeutic modalities and support our research community in applying viral vectors as powerful research tools.

This is a 6-month contract position based in South San Francisco, California.

Responsibilities

• Integration of automation and high-throughput LVV and AAV workflows.
• Implement and program automated liquid handling systems (e.g., Integra Assist Plus, Bravo etc) for high-throughput transfection, transduction, sample dilution and cell seeding.
• Incorporate high-throughput shaker arrays or automated micro-scale bioreactor platforms (e.g., Ambr® 15 or Ambr® 250) to run parallel mini-scale expression runs.
• Troubleshoot liquid-class parameters, pipetting precision, and plasticware compatibility to minimize batch-to-batch variation.
• Develop and optimize suspension-based lentiviral vector (LVV) upstream production platform.
• Design, execute, and characterize robust, scalable upstream processes, from seed train expansion through shake flask production and primary harvest.
• Apply Design of Experiments (DOE) methodologies to systematically explore multivariate interactions including multi-plasmid transient transfection conditions, plasmid ratios, transfection reagents (e.g., PEI, lipid nanoparticles), DNA-to-cell ratios, harvest timing, feed schedule and chemical enhancers to boost packaging efficiency.
• Development and establishment of downstream LVV process.
• Evaluate and identify optimal low-shear depth filtration and microfiltration protocols tailored to large scale virus production.
• Develop and optimize ultrafiltration/diafiltration (TFF) and chromatographic purification methodologies.
• Conduct cutting-edge analytics for LVV and AAV QC.
• Perform physical and functional characterization of viral vectors to interpret quality attributes and ensure high-quality services.
• Integrate QC in the uptream/downstream process development for rapid identification of factors for improvement.
• Data, Inventory and Protocol Management: Analyze multivariate process datasets using excel, Prism or AI agent to facilitate fast progression of projects.
• Maintain a meticulously organized virus inventory and registry utilizing digital informatics platforms to ensure data integrity and traceability.
• Author standardoperating procedures (SOPs), technical reports and tech transfer protocols.
• Present data in group and department meetings.

Qualifications

• MS/PhD degree in Cell Biology, Molecular Biology, Virology, Biochemistry, Bioengineering, Genetics, or a related discipline.
• 3+ years of laboratory research or industrial experience.
• Proficient in mammalian cell culture and general molecular biology techniques such as transient plasmid transfection, PCR, qPCR, ddPCR, dPCR and Western blot.
• Require strong data analysis and presentation skills.
• Previous experience with ex vivo CAR T engineering using lentivirus is a must.
• Working experiences with lentivirus or AAV production in adherent or suspension cells, process development, statistical DOE modeling and automated liquid handling are highly desirable.
• Experience with flow cytometer operations, electronic notebook and BSL2 facility management are also strong plus.
• Must be self-motivated, detail-oriented, analytical, highly organized, and have excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

Pay

• $42.95-$47.22/hr

Why Choose R&D Partners?

As an employee, you have access to a comprehensive benefits package including:

• Medical insurance – PPO, HMO & HSA
• 401k plan
• Employee Assistance Program
• Long-term disability
• Weekly payroll
• Online timecard approval

R&D Partners is a global functional service provider and strategic staffing resource specializing in scientific, clinical research & engineering. We provide job opportunities within major pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device companies.

R&D Partners is an equal-opportunity employer.