Postdoctoral Research Fellow, BioMedicine Design

About the role

BioMedicine Design (BMD) group at La Jolla, CA is seeking a highly driven and innovative Ph.D.-level scientist to join our Biotherapeutics Discovery group as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in driving therapeutic innovation through the development of a next-generation T cell engager (TCE) designed to improve tumor selectivity and minimize on-target, off-tumor toxicity. This is a unique opportunity to be trained at the interface of protein engineering, cell biology, and immunology, to work collaboratively with diverse research teams within Pfizer, and to publish in high-impact journals.

Key Responsibilities

• Demonstrate strong technical and scientific rigor in project planning and gap identification
• Proactively conduct literature searches to gather relevant information and form hypotheses for testing experimentally
• Design and produce constructs to further our understanding of underlying biology and mechanism of action; develop and utilize cell-based assays to test hypothesis and screen and rank molecules
• Generate and effectively communicate results regularly at internal meetings, make data-driven decisions in shaping direction of research project
• Participate in developing creative approaches to discover and optimize therapeutics

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS

• PhD in cancel biology, immunology, molecular or cellular biology, biochemistry, chemical and biomolecular engineering or a related discipline is required
• Provide two letters of recommendation with your application (e.g. professors/PI)
• Willingness to commit to the fixed-term full-time postdoctoral fellowship (duration: 2–4 years)
• Less than 2 years post-doctoral experience
• At least 1 first-author scientific research article in high-quality specialty or general readership journals
• Technically proficient in (at least) some molecular and cell biology tools, including construct design, molecular cloning, recombinant protein expression/purification, mammalian cell culture and cell line engineering, cell line transfection and characterization, development of cell-based assays (e.g. cytotoxicity proliferation, cytokine production), and flow cytometry
• Proficient with data reporting and analysis software, strong planning and organizational skills
• Strong motivation, passion and commitment to science and engineering of novel entities
• Able and willing to multitask and work in a fast-paced, interdisciplinary scientific team both independently and as part of a team, strong problem-solving and analytical skills
• Excellent written and oral communication skills

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Prior experience with antibody discovery, protein engineering, and/or display technology (e.g., yeast and/or phage display) is highly desirable
• Experience with bispecific antibodies or T cell engagers