Senior Computational Biophysicist – RNA Therapeutics

100 Eli Lilly and Company; South San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 168,000 - 264,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) plan

Pension

Medical, dental, vision benefits

Vacation benefits

Flexible benefits

Life insurance

Well-being programs

Job summary

Lilly in South San Francisco seeks a computational biophysicist to build atomic-resolution models of Ago2 guide-strand loading and catalytic activity in siRNA programs. You will develop MD and free-energy models from cryo-EM and biophysical data, predicting how modifications affect loading, passenger-strand release, and efficiency.

Expect to lead a team of senior computational scientists while collaborating with medicinal chemistry and biology.

Qualifications

• PhD in biophysics, computational chemistry, chemical physics, structural biology or related STEM field.
• Five+ years of relevant experience running and analyzing molecular dynamics simulations of protein–nucleic acid systems.
• Experience with MD engines (AMBER, GROMACS, NAMD, OpenMM, CHARMM or equivalents) and free‑energy methods (FEP, TI, umbrella sampling, metadynamics).
• Python and reproducible analysis pipelines.

Responsibilities

• Model modification effects on Ago2 binding, loading energetics and RISC catalysis.
• Run all-atom and enhanced-sampling simulations using cryo-EM, crystallography and biophysical data.
• Quantify kinetics and conformational dynamics of loading and cleavage processes.
• Develop simulation pipelines and force-field parameters for non-natural nucleotides.
• Present mechanistic findings to chemists and leadership; publish and patent as applicable.

Skills

Molecular dynamics

Free-energy methods

Python

Reproducible analysis

Non-canonical nucleotides

Education

PhD in biophysics or related STEM

Tools

AMBER

GROMACS

NAMD

OpenMM

CHARMM

Job description

Lilly in South San Francisco seeks a computational biophysicist to build atomic-resolution models of Ago2 guide-strand loading and catalytic activity in siRNA programs. You will develop MD and free-energy models from cryo-EM and biophysical data, predicting how modifications affect loading, passenger-strand release, and efficiency.

Expect to lead a team of senior computational scientists while collaborating with medicinal chemistry and biology.