research scientist Stevenage, England
Job description
Posted Date: Jul 14 2023
An exciting opportunity has arisen in the GSK Enzyme Engineering and Biocatalysis group for a Biocatalysis Scientist. In this role, you would be responsible for supporting the discovery and engineering of enzymes for use in research, development and manufacturing processes. Our engineered biocatalysts are applied in making small molecule APIs, oligonucleotides, and vaccine components among other areas. Working closely with project teams, you would develop assays for understanding and improving enzymes of interest, identify novel enzymes for the synthesis of complex products, and support enzyme evolution programs as part of an interdisciplinary team of experts.
The role is fast-paced and dynamic, you will thrive in this environment if you are able to effectively manage multiple priorities, communicate your recommendations clearly and enjoy working in teams.
In this role you will
Develop high throughput assays for target molecules such as nucleic acid containing APIs and run such assays to identify improved enzyme variants from diverse libraries.
Identify new enzymes to support our evolving portfolio of therapeutic modalities, understand enzyme mechanism and reaction kinetics and support scale up activities for generation and use of enzymes.
Design experiments, collect, and analyse data using programs such as MS Excel, TIBCO Spotfire and bespoke software tools to inform decisions.
Interact with partners in discovery, development, and manufacturing to identify and realise biocatalytic applications.
Generate conclusion reports, present data in team meetings & participate in the writing of abstracts & publications, as well as conduct scientific work programs and make contributions both independently and as a member of a team with other R&D staff.
Maintain customer focus, motivate self, and demonstrate a high degree of urgency while exhibiting flexibility and being open to new ways of working.
Why you?
Basic Qualifications & Skills:
We are looking for professionals with these required skills to achieve our goals:
Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in biochemistry, chemistry or a relevant life science.
Practical laboratory experience of the identification of enzymes to perform reactions of interest, and the optimization of those enzymes under synthetically relevant conditions
Preferred Qualifications & Skills:
Please note the following skills are not necessary, just preferred, if you do not have them, please still apply:
Doctoral/PhD degree (or equivalent) in Biochemistry, Chemical Biology, Chemistry, Biotechnology or related discipline OR Master’s degree and equivalent relevant laboratory experience
Familiarity with lab automation equipment and its use in high throughput experimentation with recombinant enzymes and/or experience with high throughput assay development, Design of Experiments, etc.
Demonstrated ability to work in multi-disciplinary teams, displaying excellent interpersonal, organizational, and communication skills
Demonstrated excellence in the end-to-end execution of directed evolution projects including enzyme identification, library design, generation, and screening and/or the ability to analyse and visualize large multidimensional datasets
Experience of working with therapeutic oligonucleotides
Practical laboratory experience of characterising nucleic acid-modifying enzymes such as ligases, polymerases, phosphatases and kinases.
Closing Date for Applications – 25th August 2023* (COB)
- Please note that we reserve the right to close the advert early if we identify a sufficient number of suitable candidates.
Please take a copy of the Job Description, as this will not be available post closure of the advert.
When applying for this role, please use the ‘cover letter’ of the online application or your CV to describe how you meet the competencies for this role, as outlined in the job requirements above. The information that you have provided in your cover letter and CV will be used to assess your application.
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