Scientist, Antibody Discovery, Horns Lab

About the position

We are seeking a highly skilled and motivated Scientist to join the Horns Lab at the Arc Institute. In this position, you will lead the development of a novel platform for mapping human antibody specificities at scale. You will play a critical role in building, optimizing, and applying a system for high-throughput identification of antigen-specific B cells and their antibody sequences through single-cell sequencing. Your work will directly impact our understanding of human immunity and the discovery of new antibodies.

The successful candidate will develop and scale this antibody discovery platform within the Horns lab at the Arc Institute. This work will initially focus on optimizing antigen-specific B cell isolation, establishing single-cell sequencing readouts, and scaling to multiplexed screens. In the longer term, this platform will be applied to comprehensively profile human immune repertoires for understanding human immunology in health and disease.

The candidate will collaborate with other members of Arc’s labs and Technology Centers in a dynamic environment to drive scientific discoveries, including groups within Arc Institute who are leaders in RNA biology, single-cell genomics, and AI/ML. The ideal candidate would have a passion for cutting-edge technology development and a proven track record of working in an interdisciplinary environment and turning concepts into reliable methods and results. This is an excellent opportunity for an ambitious self-starter who is motivated to apply his/her skills to diverse projects and enjoys working in a collaborative, fast-paced team environment.

About you

• You are passionate about science and understanding human immunity through the lens of new technology.
• You are excited to build new platforms for antibody discovery and immune repertoire analysis.
• You are creative and eager to explore new approaches beyond the techniques you are familiar with. You enjoy stepping out of your comfort zone to learn new things and develop new experimental approaches.
• You work fast, yet are diligent and detail-oriented. You are good at troubleshooting. You are careful about good documentation practices and keeping things organized while moving at a rapid pace.
• You excel at organization, time management, and task prioritization, and enjoy driving multiple projects in parallel.
• You love to collaborate and help others. Science is a team effort, and you pride yourself in taking the initiative to help.

Requirements

• PhD in immunology, molecular biology, genomics, bioengineering, or a related field with 0-5 years of relevant post-PhD experience in either academia or industry.
• Deep experience with single-cell sequencing technologies for immune profiling (e.g. 10X Genomics VDJ workflows).
• Demonstrated track record of developing or adapting sequencing-based assays, with strong troubleshooting skills.
• Strong background in antibody biology, B cell immunology, or adaptive immune repertoire analysis.
• Proficiency in flow cytometry, including multi-parameter panel design, optimization, and cell sorting.
• Experience with antigen-binding characterization assays (e.g. ELISA, SPR, BLI).
• Experience with analyzing large and complex sequencing data sets using Python, R, or similar tools.
• Experience with mammalian cell culture and standard molecular biology techniques (cloning, construct design).
• Strong project management skills with the ability to plan, execute, and deliver results on time. Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to work in a fast-paced environment and be both an independent thinker and a highly collaborative team player.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with antigen-barcoded B cell sequencing approaches (e.g. LIBRA-seq, CITE-seq) is a plus.
• Experience with antigen-specific cell sorting using labeled antigen probes (e.g. tetramer staining) is a plus.
• Experience with human primary immune cell isolation and culture is a plus.
• Experience with library design, pooled cloning, or high-throughput screening approaches is a plus.
• Experience with protein biochemistry (expression, purification) is a plus.
• Experience with machine learning approaches for sequence-function prediction is a plus.