Senior Research Associate

Senior Research Associate, Cell Line Engineering and Development

Located in Somerville, MA

Contract role through end of 2025 then can renew

Position Summary and Responsibilities 

• Perform basic cell line development (CLD) techniques and generate stable cell lines using transfection, transduction, selection, single cell subcloning, growth and expression screening, cell banking and stability assessment. 
• Support molecular and genetic characterization of producer cell lines and leverage these findings for the development of novel cell line substrates. 
• Contribute towards the design and implementation of new technologies and genome engineering strategies to support CLD platform innovation. 
• Maintain accurate and detailed laboratory notebooks and electronic records. 
• Interpret project results and contribute to technical discussions by effectively communicating key updates to collaborators and team members. 
• Capability to work independently and manage multiple projects.  
• Highly organized with strong attention to detail, accuracy, and conciseness.  
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.  
• Strong planning skills and a history of meeting accelerated timelines. 
• Demonstrate a strong sense of work ethic and agility in a dynamic, cross-functional, collaborative environment. 

Basic Qualification: 

• Ph.D., MS, or BS degree in Biochemistry, Cell Biology, Molecular Biology, Bioengineering or relevant fields with 0-2yr (PhD), 2-4yr (MS), 3-5yr (BS) years of relevant experience within a pharmaceutical or biotech industry. 
• Extensive experience with mammalian cell culture (adherent and suspension) with strong aseptic techniques required.   
• Hands-on experience in Cell Line development is preferred 
• Proven expertise in molecular biology assays such as DNA/RNA extraction, PCR, Sanger Sequencing, qPCR/ddPCR/dPCR for viral titer, copy number and transcript analysis, Western blot, Flow cytometry required. Hands-on experience with laboratory instrumentation such as JESS, WES, Attune NxT, Chemometec NC3000, Refeyn, Incucyte, VIPS single-cell seeder is preferred. 
• Experience in upstream processes like virus production, purification, and characterization protocols preferred. 
• Experience using genome editing tools (CRISPR and transposases) to modify mammalian cell lines preferred. 
• Experience analyzing some/all the following platforms: whole-genome/exome sequencing, RNA-sequencing (e.g., Illumina), single-cell/nucleus RNA-seq (10x Genomics), High-throughput library-based discovery, and long-read sequencing (e.g., PacBio and Oxford Nanopore) 
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite and GraphPad Prism, and familiarity with additional software such as SW compass, QuantStudio, Snapgene, and GeneiousPrime. 

“Nice-to-have” Qualifications: 

• Familiarity with biological annotation and ontology resources, such as Ensembl, GO, and UniProt 
• Experience using Java, JavaScript, Python, R, Scala, or SQL to organize and analyze complex data sets 
• A background in neuroscience and/or virology