Sr Manager Protein Sciences

Twist Bioscience; South San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 189,000 - 224,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus

Equity

Generous benefits

Job summary

Twist Bioscience, based in South San Francisco, seeks a Sr. Manager - Protein Sciences R&D to lead antibody-centric protein workflows.

You’ll start as hands-on contributor while defining strategy, hiring, and building a team; later you’ll balance bench work with leadership, mentoring scientists, and shaping platform development. The role requires deep experience in antibody expression, purification, and characterization, plus strong drive to deliver scalable workflows and robust processes in a

Qualifications

• PhD in Cell Biology, Biochemistry, or a closely related field.
• 5+ years of experience in protein sciences.
• 5 years of management experience.
• Hands-on experience working with antibody expression and purification.
• Experience with liquid-handling systems and automation is a plus.
• Familiarity with Python or equivalent programming languages is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Develop small- and medium-scale antibody production workflows, including various formats and purification methods.
• Improve end-to-end antibody development workflow across construct design, cell line development, culture, purification, and analytics.
• Build and manage a team of scientists and RAs to aid in work.
• Independently design and execute experiments, and analyze data.
• Move projects forward efficiently, manage time/resources, and align with company goals.
• Document and communicate results clearly and succinctly.
• Stay up to date with new developments and technologies.
• Be the subject matter expert across projects and related areas.

Skills

Antibody design & expression

Mammalian cell line development

Protein purification workflows

Team leadership & mentoring

High-throughput workflow development

Biophysical characterization methods

Data analysis & experimental design

Automation & liquid handling

Python (data analysis)

Education

PhD in Cell Biology or Biochemistry

Tools

Python

Job description

Sr. Manager - Protein Sciences R&D (South San Francisco, CA)

Twist is searching for an RnD scientist/manager with experience in cell biology and protein expression and purification, with an emphasis on antibodies, to lead and enhance our protein sciences capabilities.

We're looking for a curious, technically deep, and driven scientist who can operate as both a hands‑on bench scientist and a builder of people and process. You will start as an individual contributor, personally executing and improving core workflows, while simultaneously defining the technical roadmap, hiring, and building a team around you. As the team grows, you will continue to spend meaningful time at the bench and on experimental design. We are looking for people who have deep technical knowledge and a strong drive to get things done.

Job title and compensation will be determined based on several factors, including, but not limited to, the candidate's years of experience, skills, knowledge, and abilities.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop small- and medium-scale antibody production workflows, including various formats (single-chain, IgG, multi-specific), culture systems, and purification methods
• Improve all aspects of the end-to-end antibody development workflow: construct design, cell line development, cell culture, purification, and analytics
• Build from the ground up and manage a team of scientists and RAs that will aid you in your work
• Independently design and execute experiments, and analyze experimental data
• Move projects forward efficiently / manage time and resources effectively / prioritize tasks in accordance with the company’s goals
• Document and communicate results clearly and succinctly
• Be helpful/collaborative/proactive
• Stay up to date with new developments, companies, and technologies
• Be the ultimate subject matter expert, and understand all aspects of your work as profoundly as possible, including details that are adjacent to your projects

What You’ll Bring to the Team

• Deep hands‑on experience designing, expressing, and optimizing monoclonal antibodies, with demonstrated understanding of Fc structure–function relationships (effector function, stability, manufacturability).
• Proven experience with bispecific antibody architectures, including but not limited to:
  • Knob-in-hole, CrossMab, common light chain, or similar
  • Chain pairing control and mispairing mitigation
• Experience generating and optimizing stable mammalian cell lines (CHO preferred):
  • Vector design, promoter/selection strategies
  • Clone screening, productivity optimization, and stability assessment
• Strong understanding of transient vs stable expression tradeoffs and when to deploy each during platform development.
• Experience improving expression yields and product quality through sequence, vector, and host engineering.
• Demonstrated ability to build, improve, and standardize antibody generation workflows, not just execute existing SOPs.
• Experience developing high-throughput or semi-automated workflows for expression, purification, and screening.
• Strong understanding of platform robustness, reproducibility, and cost drivers.
• Hands‑on experience with antibody characterization methods, such as:
  • SEC, CE-SDS
  • Binding kinetics (BLI or SPR)
  • Basic biophysical profiling (DSF, DLS)
  • Strong mechanistic understanding of antibody biology, structure, and expression bottlenecks
  • Experience designing platforms that support multiple antibody modalities (mAbs, bispecifics, Fc-engineered variants)
  • A track record of successful and creative method development

Qualifications

• PhD in Cell Biology, Biochemistry, or a closely related field
• 5+ years of experience in protein sciences
• 5 years of management experience
• Hands‑on experience working with antibody expression and purification
• Experience with liquid-handling systems and automation is a plus
• Familiarity with Python or equivalent programming languages is a plus

About Twist Bioscience

Twist Bioscience synthesizes genes from scratch, known as “writing” DNA. Just as children learn to both read and write, the next phase of development for the genomics revolution is the ability to write DNA.

At Twist Bioscience, we work in service of people who are changing the world for the better. In fields such as health care, agriculture, industrial chemicals and data storage, our unique silicon-based DNA Synthesis Platform provides precision at a scale that is otherwise unavailable to our customers.

Twist Bioscience Corporation is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Twist Bioscience Corporation provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, genetic characteristics, or any other category protected by law.

The base cash compensation for this California-based role is below. In addition to base salary, this role is eligible for bonus, equity, and a generous benefits package. Final compensation amounts are determined by multiple factors, including candidate skill, experience, expertise, and location and may vary from the amount listed above. Compensation may be different in other locations.

San Francisco Bay Area Pay Range

$189,000 - $224,000 USD