Nextonic is seeking a highly ambitious, adaptable, structured, and detail-oriented Scientist to join our vibrant team at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), Vaccine Production Program located in Gaithersburg, MD.
Technical Requirements
- Advance vaccine and therapeutic protein candidates including monoclonal antibodies, recombinant proteins, and virus-like particles by developing stable cell lines for preclinical development programs.
- Independently culture mammalian cells in plates, shake flasks, and small-scale bioreactors with aseptic technique.
- Perform transfection, selection, cloning, and maintenance of cells expressing proteins of interest.
- Generate stable pools and perform transient protein production for supply of reagent-grade material.
- Prepare plasmid DNA using standard molecular cloning techniques.
- Participate in cell line development platform design, optimization, and cycle-time reduction studies including methods for clone selection, expansion, ranking, and characterization by reviewing recent literature and new technologies.
- Identify, propose, and execute process and procedural changes to improve process performance, robustness, productivity, and efficiency.
- Independently design, perform, and troubleshoot experiments and analyze data.
- Plan and execute cell line development projects from plasmid construction through top clone selection.
- Oversee maintenance and support for one or more pieces of laboratory instrumentation.
- Generate, maintain, and review accurate daily records of experiments and results in a laboratory notebook.
- Prepare and review experimental plans, proposals, reports, SOPs, and production records.
- Collect information, draft and verify data for CMC sections of pre-IND and IND documents to ensure successful registration of candidates.
- Review experiments in order to evaluate the progress of the research and ensure that experiments and documentation conform to established protocols.
- Work closely with other members of CLD team, upstream process development and downstream process development teams to improve workflow efficiency and overall process yield.
- Work with Federal Task Leader to manage project timelines and provide regular updates to project teams.
- Coordinate team meeting updates and presentations.
Specific Qualifications
- Ph.D. in Biological Sciences with a minimum of 2 years of independent research experience in an academic or industrial setting.
- Hands-on experience with aseptic technique and mammalian cell culture along with supporting technologies for cell line engineering including cell counting, high-throughput transfection, single-cell cloning, flow cytometry, and automated small-scale bioreactor systems.
- Familiarity with molecular cloning methods, PCR, and agarose gel electrophoresis as well as supporting software for generating and editing plasmid maps.
- Ability to independently design experiments and work plans and manage project timelines for complex projects.
- Experience in preparing technical reports, standard operating procedures, and data presentations.