Assay Development Senior Research Associate/Associate Scientist

Position Summary:

In this role you will design, develop and execute functional assays for a cutting-edge antibody discovery platform. This involves applying a breadth of techniques in the virology, molecular biology, cell biology, and immunology spaces to advance innovative biotherapeutic products through discovery and pre-clinical development stages at Invivyd. This is a unique opportunity to join Invivyd’s Antibody Discovery and Preclinical Development Team which generates and characterizes human therapeutic antibody candidates against infectious disease targets like SARS-CoV-2, influenza, and RSV. The Assay Development Senior Research Associate will serve as a key member of the discovery team, provide expert input, and execute new and established methods to meet project requirements and timelines.

Responsibilities:

• Development and independent troubleshooting of virus-based antibody screening functional assays and optimization of existing assays.
• Contribute to high-impact projects within the Discovery group by characterizing lead antibody molecules for pre-clinical studies.
• Design and perform experiments involving in vitro screening and characterization of antibody drug candidates using immunological, biochemical, and cell-based assays.
• Design and generate pseudoviruses for use in evaluation of antibody candidates.
• Generate authentic viruses in a BSL-2 setting for use in evaluation of antibody candidates.
• Perform molecular design and characterization of DNA constructs used for assay development.
• Execute basic molecular biology (DNA/RNA extraction, RT-PCR, PCR, cloning, etc.) and Cell Biology (mammalian cell culture, gene transfection and expression) to support antibody discovery efforts.
• Collaborate closely across an interdisciplinary biologics research team to drive antibody discovery campaigns.
• Employ high-throughput molecular biology methods for building new vectors and libraries.
• Maintain appropriate records e.g. lab notebook, protocols, reports, data integrity.
• Present data, both orally and as written reports, to internal stakeholders.

Requirements:

• Master’s degree or Bachelor’s degree and 6+ years of bench Industry experience in virology, molecular biology, cell biology, or other life science disciplines.
• High proficiency in mammalian cell culture is required.
• Previous experience working with virus in a BSL-2 setting is required.
• Previous experience designing and optimizing cell-based assays and functional antibody characterization is highly preferred.
• Ability to interpret in-process readouts for the purposes of assay optimization and troubleshooting.
• Mammalian cell transfection with an understanding of expression vector design is highly preferred.
• Strong understanding of molecular biology and experience with DNA construct design and sequence analysis is highly preferred.
• Proactive team player and flexibility to work on multiple projects as the discovery programs evolve over time.
• Excellent verbal and written technical and non-technical communication skills.