Senior Scientist, Antibody Discovery & Yeast Display

Moderna; Cambridge (MA); On-site; USD 131,000 - 209,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Discretionary annual bonus

Equity opportunities

Comprehensive benefits

Well‑being resources

Job summary

Moderna seeks a Senior Scientist for the Antibody Discovery team in Therapeutics Research. The role emphasizes protein and antibody engineering with a focus on yeast display, library design, and lead identification across oncology and autoimmune programs.

You will design and execute complex experiments, collaborate with computational design and structural biology teams, and guide iterative design‑build‑test‑learn cycles to advance differentiated antibody therapeutics toward nomination.

Qualifications

• PhD in protein engineering, molecular biology, immunology, or related field with 2+ years post‑PhD industry experience in antibody discovery or biologics discovery.
• Hands‑on experience with yeast surface display for antibody or protein engineering, including library design/construction, and FACS‑based screening or selection.
• Strong understanding of antibody/protein structure‑function relationships and engineering approaches to improve binding, developability, and molecular formats.
• Experience collaborating with computational design, bioinformatics, structural biology, and antigen design teams to translate design hypotheses into experimental constructs.
• Excellent analytical and communication skills with ability to present complex results to diverse audiences.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to integrated antibody discovery and engineering campaigns from design through lead identification.
• Design, build, and execute yeast surface display workflows including library design, construction, and affinity maturation.
• Collaborate with computational design, structural biology, and antigen design teams to translate in silico designs into testable constructs.
• Apply cloning, mutagenesis, expression, purification, and analytical characterization across IgG, Fab, scFv, and multispecific formats.
• Characterize candidates using biochemical, biophysical, and functional assays to assess binding, stability, and developability.
• Analyze sequencing and NGS data to identify structure‑function relationships and inform follow‑up variants.
• Independently design and troubleshoot experiments; mentor junior scientists as needed.
• Communicate plans, results, and risks to cross‑functional teams.

Skills

yeast display

antibody engineering

molecular biology

protein engineering

NGS data analysis

cross-functional collaboration

experimental design

Education

PhD in protein engineering / molecular biology

Tools

Biacore

Carterra

Octet

NGS

Job description

Moderna seeks a Senior Scientist for the Antibody Discovery team in Therapeutics Research. The role emphasizes protein and antibody engineering with a focus on yeast display, library design, and lead identification across oncology and autoimmune programs.

You will design and execute complex experiments, collaborate with computational design and structural biology teams, and guide iterative design‑build‑test‑learn cycles to advance differentiated antibody therapeutics toward nomination.