Senior Structural Biologist, Protein Engineering Lead

Placements24; Sandton; On-site; ZAR 1,500,000 - 2,300,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Performance-based bonus

Professional growth opportunities

Advanced research facilities

Job summary

Placements24 in Sandton, Gauteng seeks a Senior Structural Biologist to lead protein structure elucidation and design efforts. You will apply X-ray crystallography, cryo-EM, and computational modeling to enable the rational engineering of therapeutic proteins within a cutting-edge team.

The role requires a PhD and 5+ years of experience, with a proven track record in structure determination, collaboration across disciplines, and contributing to drug discovery programs.

Qualifications

• PhD in Structural Biology, Biochemistry, Biophysics, or a related discipline.
• At least 5 years of post‑doctoral or industry experience in structural biology focused on protein structure determination.
• Hands-on experience with X-ray crystallography and/or cryo-EM, including data collection, processing, and structure refinement.
• Proficiency in protein expression and purification techniques.
• Experience with computational structural biology tools and molecular modeling software.
• Strong understanding of protein biochemistry and biophysics; ability to manage projects and contribute to publications.
• Excellent analytical, problem‑solving, and communication skills; mentoring experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead structural biology studies on therapeutic proteins and their target molecules using X-ray crystallography and cryo-EM.
• Optimize protein expression, purification, and crystallization/vitrification for structural analysis.
• Determine and analyze high-resolution structures; interpret data to understand function and mechanism.
• Utilize structural information to guide rational protein design and engineering efforts.
• Collaborate with medicinal chemists, molecular biologists, and computational scientists to integrate structural insights into discovery and development projects.
• Develop and implement novel structural biology methodologies and workflows.
• Troubleshoot challenging projects and provide expert guidance.
• Mentor junior scientists and contribute to scientific discourse within the team and broader community.

Skills

X-ray crystallography

cryo-EM

Computational modeling

Protein expression

Protein purification

Biochemistry

Biophysics

Analytical skills

Communication skills

Mentoring

Education

PhD in Structural Biology, Biochemistry, Biophysics, or related field

Tools

Molecular modeling software

X-ray data processing tools

Cryo-EM data processing tools

Job description

Placements24 in Sandton, Gauteng seeks a Senior Structural Biologist to lead protein structure elucidation and design efforts. You will apply X-ray crystallography, cryo-EM, and computational modeling to enable the rational engineering of therapeutic proteins within a cutting-edge team.

The role requires a PhD and 5+ years of experience, with a proven track record in structure determination, collaboration across disciplines, and contributing to drug discovery programs.