Sr. Research Associate, Antigen Design & Selection, Infectious Disease Research

The Role:

Moderna is seeking a Senior Research Associate to join the Antigen Design and Selection team at their Cambridge, MA site. The candidate will primarily support protein production needs for the Infectious Diseases Therapeutic Area by expressing, purifying, and characterizing recombinant proteins for development of viral and bacterial vaccine programs. Specifically, the candidate will utilize bacterial and mammalian cell culturing techniques for protein expression, chromatographic methods for protein purification, and perform standard biochemical techniques for characterization and of purified proteins. In addition to established methods, the candidate will also research and develop new expression/purification techniques to deliver on difficult targets. The candidate will align on project goals and deliver high-quality recombinant protein antigens to meet tight deadlines.

Heres What Youll Do:

• Protein expression primarily in Escherichia coli and mammalian cells; occasional expression in yeast, insect cells, or other bacterial hosts

• Protein purification by chromatography-based methods (affinity, ion exchange, size-exclusion, use of FPLC systems for semi-automated purifications)

• Testing and optimizing expression/purification conditions

• Characterization of proteins by standard biochemical techniques (SDS-PAGE, western blots, thermal melts, activity assays, octet binding assays)

• Research and develop new expression hosts, novel purification methods, and scout other enabling technologies to facilitate production of difficult-to-express proteins

• Effectively communicate project goals, timelines, progress, and results across functional groups

• Manage an inventory of laboratory reagents and support logistics of external receipts/shipping for partnered programs

• Interpret, summarize, and present experimental data and results at group meetings, project meetings and department meetings

Heres What Youll Bring to the Table:

• Bachelors degree with 4+ years of relevant experience in Biochemistry, Biology, Molecular biology or related discipline, or Masters degree with 2+ years relevant experience in Biochemistry, Biology, Molecular biology or related discipline

• Experience with bacterial and mammalian cell culture techniques

• Experience with design and cloning of protein expression constructs

• Experience using standard methods to express and purify recombinant proteins

• Experience operating and performing basic maintenance on FPLC systems

• Experience in biochemical characterization of proteins (e.g., SDS-PAGE, analytical SEC, western blot, thermal melt)

• Ability to participate in multiple collaborative projects in a cross-functional team environment

• Ability to multi-task to meet technology development and research goals

• Strong quantitative analysis skills

• Excellent written and oral communication

• Biochemical assay development experience preferred

  • Preferred Skills: microbial identifications

  • Expertise in industry standards and guidelines, including USP/EP compendia testing requirements

  • A proven track record of supporting the implementation of environmental monitoring programs

• Co-op/intern industry experience in protein biochemistry laboratory preferred

Moderna is pleased to provide you and your family with a comprehensive and innovative suite of benefits, including:

• Highly competitive and inclusive medical, dental and vision coverage options
• Flexible Spending Accounts for medical expenses and dependent care expenses
• Lifestyle Spending Account funds to help you engage in personal enrichment and self-care activities
• Family care benefits, including subsidized back-up care options and on-demand tutoring
• Free premium access to fitness, nutrition, and mindfulness classes
• Exclusive preferred pricing on Peloton fitness equipment
• Adoption and family-planning benefits
• Dedicated care coordination support for our LGBTQ+ community
• Generous paid time off, including:
  Vacation, sick time and holidays
  Volunteer time to participate within your community
  Discretionary year-end shutdown
  Paid sabbatical after 5 years; every 3 years thereafter
• Generous Paid Leave offerings, including 18 weeks of 100% paid parental leave for all new parents
• 401k match and Financial Planning tools
• Moderna-paid Life, LTD and STD insurance coverages, as well as voluntary benefit options
• Complimentary concierge service including home services research, travel booking, and entertainment requests
• Free parking or subsidized commuter passes
• Location-specific perks and extras!

Candidates should be aware that Moderna currently maintains a policy requiring all US-based employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and receive a booster shot once eligible. Newly hired employees must be vaccinated and boosted prior to their employment start date. Moderna is an equal opportunity employer and will provide a reasonable accommodation to those unable to be vaccinated or receive a booster where it is not an undue hardship to the company to do so as provided under federal, state, and local law.

About Moderna

In over 10 years since its inception, Moderna has transformed from a research-stage company advancing programs in the field of messenger RNA (mRNA), to an enterprise with a diverse clinical portfolio of vaccines and therapeutics across seven modalities, a broad intellectual property portfolio in areas including mRNA and lipid nanoparticle formulation, and an integrated manufacturing plant that allows for rapid clinical and commercial production at scale. Moderna maintains alliances with a broad range of domestic and overseas government and commercial collaborators, which has allowed for the pursuit of both groundbreaking science and rapid scaling of manufacturing. Most recently, Moderna's capabilities have come together to allow the authorized use and approval of one of the earliest and most effective vaccines against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Moderna's mRNA platform builds on continuous advances in basic and applied mRNA science, delivery technology and manufacturing, and has allowed the development of therapeutics and vaccines for infectious diseases, immuno-oncology, rare diseases, cardiovascular diseases and autoimmune diseases. Moderna has been named a top biopharmaceutical employer by Science for the past seven years. To learn more, visit www.modernatx.com.

Moderna is a smoke-free, alcohol-free and drug-free work environment.

Moderna is committed to equal employment opportunity and non-discrimination for all employees and qualified applicants without regard to a persons race, color, gender, age, religion, national origin, ancestry, disability, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation or any characteristic protected under applicable law. Moderna will make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with known disabilities, in accordance with applicable law.

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