Senior Scientist, Structural Biology — Crystallography

Placements24; Polokwane; On-site; ZAR 1,200,000 - 1,900,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Medical, dental, and vision benefits

Paid time off and holidays

Professional development and attending

State-of-the-art facilities

Job summary

Placements24 in Polokwane, Limpopo, is seeking a Senior Scientist specialized in Structural Biology to determine 3D structures of biomolecules, supporting rational drug design. You will use X-ray crystallography, cryo-EM, and NMR to advance drug discovery programs.

The role requires a PhD and 5+ years in the field, with a proven track record in protein structure determination and collaboration with medicinal chemistry teams. Polokwane-based research facilities offer a collaborative environment.

Qualifications

• PhD in Structural Biology, Biochemistry, Biophysics, or related field.
• 5+ years hands-on experience in protein crystallography or cryo-EM.
• Proven track record determining structures of complex protein targets.
• Experience with structure determination software (Phenix, CCP4, Chimera) and model refinement.
• Strong analytical, problem‑solving, and communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead projects to determine structures of protein targets and therapeutic molecules using X-ray crystallography and/or cryo-EM.
• Express, purify, and characterize proteins for structural studies.
• Optimize crystallization conditions and data collection strategies for challenging targets.
• Process and refine structural data, interpret electron density maps, and build models.
• Collaborate with chemists to integrate structural insights into drug design.
• Stay current with advances in structural biology techniques and instrumentation.
• Mentor junior scientists and present findings at meetings and conferences.

Skills

Structural biology

Protein crystallography

Cryo-EM

NMR spectroscopy

Protein expression

Protein purification

Phenix

CCP4

Chimera

Education

PhD in Structural Biology

Tools

Phenix

CCP4

Chimera

Job description

Placements24 in Polokwane, Limpopo, is seeking a Senior Scientist specialized in Structural Biology to determine 3D structures of biomolecules, supporting rational drug design. You will use X-ray crystallography, cryo-EM, and NMR to advance drug discovery programs.

The role requires a PhD and 5+ years in the field, with a proven track record in protein structure determination and collaboration with medicinal chemistry teams. Polokwane-based research facilities offer a collaborative environment.