Scientist, Antibody Discovery & Characterization

Ginkgo Bioworks.com

Office

Massachusetts, United States

Full Time

Our mission is to make biology easier to engineer. Ginkgo is constructing, editing, and redesigning the living world in order to answer the globe’s growing challenges in health, energy, food, materials, and more. Our bioengineers make use of an in-house automated foundry for designing and building new organisms.

Onsite 3 days per week at our Boston Seaport headquarters.

We are seeking a creative and experienced Scientist with a strong background in bispecific and multi-specific antibody engineering to join our Antibody Developability team. This individual will be a key contributor to the design, production, and in-depth characterization of novel therapeutic antibody formats, including IgGs, VHHs and scFv-based constructs. The ideal candidate will leverage their expertise in protein engineering and state-of-the-art developability assays and play a critical role in advancing our high-throughput antibody developability platform, PROPHET-Ab.

Key Responsibilities

Lead the design and engineering of novel antibody formats, including bispecific and multi-specific constructs, to optimize for function and developability.
Develop and execute workflows for the production (transfection, expression) and purification of complex antibody formats.
Design and implement a wide range of biophysical and functional assays to evaluate antibody binding, stability, and activity, with a focus on challenges unique to bi/multi-specifics, VHHs, and scFvs.
Develop methods for developability assessments for novel antibody formats (such as bi/multi-specifics), as well as binding kinetics (SPR/BLI), and functional cell-based assays.
Provide technical leadership and hands-on expertise to troubleshoot expression, purification, and analytical challenges associated with novel formats.
Contribute to scientific strategy, innovation, and the continuous improvement of our developability assessment platform.
Mentor and guide junior scientists.
Author technical reports, SOPs, and present findings to internal leadership and external customers.

Required Qualifications

Ph.D. in Biochemistry, Immunology, Bioengineering, or a related field with 0-2 years of industry/academic experience (or M.S. with 6+ years or B.S. with 8+ years of relevant experience).
Deep expertise in the design, engineering, expression, and characterization of complex protein formats, with a demonstrated track record working with bispecific or multi-specific antibodies.
Demonstrated proficiency in antibody developability assessment using multiple biophysical techniques (e.g., DSF, DLS, SEC, HIC, AC-SINS, Polyreactivity).
Extensive hands-on expertise with SPR (e.g., Biacore) or BLI (e.g., Octet) for quantitative analysis of complex binding interactions, such as simultaneous binding of bispecifics.
Proven ability to independently lead projects and contribute to experimental design.
Excellent communication skills and the ability to thrive in a highly collaborative, multidisciplinary environment.

Preferred Qualifications

Industry experience in therapeutic antibody discovery and development.
Experience with or exposure to computational tools for antibody discovery, including the use of AI/ML models for in silico developability prediction or sequence optimization.
Familiarity with high-throughput expression, purification, and screening techniques.
Knowledge of antibody display platforms (e.g., phage, yeast) or other discovery methods is desirable.

To learn more about Ginkgo, visit www.ginkgobioworks.com/press/ or check out some curated press below:

We also feel that it’s important to point out the obvious here – there’s a serious lack of diversity in our industry, and that needs to change. Our goal is to help drive that change. Ginkgo is deeply committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in all of its practices, especially when it comes to growing our team. Our culture promotes inclusion and embraces how rewarding it is to work with people from all walks of life. We’re developing a powerful biological engineering platform, so we must remain mindful of the many ways our technology can – and will – impact people around the world. We care about how our platform is used, and having a diverse team to build it gives us the best chance that it’s something we’ll be proud of as it continues to grow. Therefore, it’s critical that we incorporate the diverse voices and visions of all those who play a role in the future of biology. It is the policy of Ginkgo Bioworks to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees, employment applicants, and EOE disability/vet. Privacy Notice I understand that I am applying for employment with Ginkgo Bioworks and am being asked to provide information in connection with my application. I further understand that Ginkgo gathers this information through a third-party service provider and that Ginkgo may also use other service providers to assist in the application process. Ginkgo may share my information with such third-party service providers in connection with my application and for the start of employment. Ginkgo will treat my information in accordance with Ginkgo's Privacy Policy. By submitting this job application, I am acknowledging that I have reviewed and agree to Ginkgo's Privacy Policy as well as the privacy policies of the third-party service providers used by Ginkgo's associated with the application process.