Principal Scientist mRNA Design & Optimization (Billerica MA)
- Compensation
- Not disclosed
- Location
- Not listed
- Work setup
- Not specified
- Seniority
- Principal
- Employment
- Not specified
- Experience
- 5+ years
- Category
- Design
- Posted
Skills
Must have
- PhD in RNA Biology, Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Bioengineering, Chemical Biology, Genetics, Biotechnology or a related discipline
- Typically 5+ years of relevant industry or academic experience in RNA/mRNA therapeutics, RNA engineering or a closely related field
- In-depth, hands-on expertise in mRNA design and sequence optimization (UTR libraries and screening, codon optimization, miRNA/RNA-binding protein site engineering, folding, enhancement of translation)
- Demonstrated ability to lead multidisciplinary projects independently, define scientific strategy and solve complex technical problems, with strong scientific communication, technical writing and pres
Nice to have
- Experience with tissue- and cell-specific expression optimization and modified nucleosides/base modification strategies
- Hands-on experience with in vitro transcription, mRNA synthesis, purification (e.g. chromatography, dsRNA removal), RNA characterization (CE, HPLC, LC-MS, capping and poly(A) analysis) and cellular pr
- CAR design expertise and protein engineering knowledge (construct design, expression, functional characterization)
- Experience working with LNP or other nucleic acid delivery systems and with therapeutic areas (immuno-oncology, immunology, neuroscience)
- Highly organized, detail-oriented, creative, results-driven problem solver with demonstrated flexibility and collaborative working style
- Work Experience
- 5+ years of pharmaceutical or biotech industry experience strongly preferred
- Job specific Competencies & Skills
- Awareness of nucleic acid drug development, mRNA design and delivery trends in the industry
- Familiarity with computational/in silico sequence design, folding prediction and sequence-activity data analysis
- Ability to translate therapeutic area needs into mRNA design strategies and advance internal innovation projects
- Ability to prioritize across parallel platform and pipeline projects
- Location: On-site Billerica MA
- Pay Range for this position: $131,300 - $216,600
- The offer range represents the anticipated low and high end of the base pay compensation for this position. The actual compensation offered will be determined by factors such as location, level of exp
Full description
Work Your Magic with us! Start your next chapter and join EMD Serono.
Ready to explore, break barriers, and discover more? We know you’ve got big plans – so do we! Our colleagues across the globe love innovating with science and technology to enrich people’s lives with our solutions in Healthcare, Life Science, and Electronics. Together, we dream big and are passionate about caring for our rich mix of people, customers, patients, and planet. That's why we are always looking for curious minds that see themselves imagining the unimaginable with us.
United As One for Patients, our purpose in Healthcare is to help create, improve and prolong lives. We develop medicines, intelligent devices and innovative technologies in therapeutic areas such as Oncology, Neurology and Fertility. Our teams work together across 6 continents with passion and relentless curiosity in order to help patients at every stage of life. Joining our Healthcare team is becoming part of a diverse, inclusive and flexible working culture, presenting great opportunities for personal development and career advancement across the globe.
Your role:
This Principal Scientist role will join the Oligonucleotide Therapeutics team to lead the design, engineering and optimization of therapeutic mRNAs for protein replacement, immunomodulation, vaccines and gene editing applications
Design and optimize mRNA constructs end-to-end: 5’ UTR, coding sequence, 3’ UTR, poly(A) tail and cap structure – including UTR library generation and high-throughput screening, codon optimization, miRNA and RNA-binding-protein site engineering, GC content and motif design, secondary structure/folding optimization and control of innate immune activation – to maximize protein expression, stability and translational efficiency
Engineer tissue- and cell-type-specific expression through regulatory element design, base and nucleoside modification strategies (e.g. N1-methylpseudouridine), and cap/poly(A) optimization
Establish and run in vitro transcription (IVT) for mRNA synthesis, purification and characterization workflows, and design experiments assessing integrity, purity, stability, translation, biological activity and critical quality attributes (capping efficiency, dsRNA, residual impurities)
Lead internal projects advancing mRNA cargo for our LNP platform, evaluating how sequence, length, charge, structure and chemical modifications influence encapsulation, biodistribution and translation, with a focus on immuno-oncology and immunology disease applications, including CAR and other engineered protein payloads
Present data and study updates in cross-functional project meetings
Collaborate internally with colleagues within the extended organization to build on strengths and generate effective partnerships