Jobs in Structural Biology and Related Fields


Protein Expression Research Assistant at Exscientia Oxford


Exscientia, Oxford, United Kingdom
Application deadline: 30 Sep 2020


Exscientia is at the forefront of Artificial Intelligence (AI) driven drug discovery and is the only company to have designed drug molecules by AI that are in clinical studies. Their mission is to revolutionise the pharmaceutical industry so that patients get faster access to life-saving drugs. Exscientia’s world-class leadership in AI-driven drug discovery has been recognised by partnerships with major pharmaceutical companies, joint ventures with biotech and technology companies and multiple investment rounds by top-tier investors. Exscientia is collectively working to build a cutting-edge future and are looking for like-minded individuals to join the journey.

Following multiple high-profile partnerships and their most recent Series C fund-raise, Exscientia are now adding a key appointment to their Protein Sciences Team, a Protein Expression Research Assistant. The Protein Science Team is part of Discovery Biology in Exscientia and is responsible for enabling small-molecule therapeutic projects by providing heterologous protein production to facilitate biochemical, biophysical and crystallographic studies. Protein quality and an understanding of their behaviours and relevance to disease is of critical importance to the approach. Discovery Biology works on diverse target classes and is a core component delivering the transformative efficiency improvements in clinical candidate discovery by Exscientia's AI systems.

Exscientia are looking to recruit an experienced scientist specialising in eukaryotic cell culture and protein expression to help contribute to a busy group by performing heterologous cell expression. The role will involve facilitating Exscientia's ongoing expansion by helping to develop and run a high-throughput pipeline for the screening and scaling of recombinant protein expression in both eukaryotic and prokaryotic expression systems. You will be encouraged to bring your own ideas into play where they contribute to the continuous improvement of the protein production platform.

What will you be doing in the role?

  • Routine cell maintenance and scaling of Insect and Mammalian cell lines.
  • Production of recombinant baculovirus.
  • Transfection/infection for recombinant protein expression.
  • Expression of recombinant proteins in E. coli (mL to L scale).
  • Performing high throughput expression screening using automated methods.
  • Purifying recombinant proteins by affinity chromatography methods.
  • Having high attention to detail including good record keeping.
  • You will author high quality reports and data summaries.
  • Communicate updates to projects.
  • Working to the highest scientific standards under the direction of the Head of Protein Sciences.

What will you bring to the role?

  • Experience in cell culturing techniques in both Mammalian and Insect cell lines. Cell stock maintenance and scale up for protein expression.
  • Experience of transfection/infection in Insect cells (transient and Baculovirus) and Mammalian cells (transient, BacMam and LentiX).
  • Experience in stable cell line generation of recombinant protein expressing lines.
  • A demonstrable analytical approach to problem solving.
  • The ability to work as part of a team.
  • Flexibility, adaptability and an ability to work across multiple projects.
  • Excellent interpersonal, oral, and written communication skills: you will need to be able to communicate effectively with team members.
  • The successful candidate will possess a minimum of a strong honour’s degree plus either a postgraduate qualification or proven laboratory experience in the life sciences.

Desirable Experience

  • Experience in protein purification and analysis including affinity, ion exchange and size exclusion chromatography, SDS-PAGE and Western blotting and the use of FPLC systems.
  • Experience with methods utilised in high-throughput cloning and screening of protein expression such as ligase-less cloning and miniaturisation of expression screening.
  • Previous work experience in an industrial or high-throughput environment.
  • Demonstrated ability to optimise workflows.
  • Experience in working with and adopting complex laboratory automation/liquid handling.
  • Experience with LIMS systems.

What can you expect from Exscientia?

  • Making a positive contribution to patients by revolutionising the pharmaceutical industry through AI driven discovery
  • Joining a scaling AI organisation with world class technical and scientific leaders
  • An opportunity to grow your career with us as we grow our organisation
  • A highly competitive compensation to support our employees as Exscientia continues to grow and thrive
  • The opportunity to join an inclusive, collaborative and intellectually stimulating culture
  • Working in brand new, state of the art laboratories
  • Modern offices with fantastic free food on offer

Apply for this role on the Exscientia website. Applications will remain open until the position is filled.

Exscientia, Oxford, United Kingdom

Protein Expression Research Assistant at Exscientia Oxford