Scientist II/Senior Scientist, Protein Sciences

The Company

Flagship Labs 112, Inc. (FL112) is revolutionizing sustainable water solutions by harnessing cutting-edge science to address global water scarcity. Our mission is to create scalable, sustainable solutions that reduce dependence on traditional water sources, mitigate the impacts of climate change, and support communities worldwide. Through interdisciplinary collaboration across biology, engineering, and environmental science, we are pioneering advancements that redefine access to sustainable freshwater.

FL112 is a well-funded, early-stage biotechnology company founded through Flagship Pioneering’s venture creation engine, where companies such as Moderna Inc. and Invaio Sciences were conceived and created. Since Flagship’s founding in 2000, the firm has originated and fostered the development of nearly 100 scientific ventures resulting in $90 billion in aggregate value, 500+ issued patents, and more than 50 clinical trials for novel therapeutic agents. 

The Role

We are seeking a talented and driven biologist with expertise in self-assembling proteins, membrane proteins, protein secretion, and water-interacting proteins to join our multidisciplinary research team. The ideal candidate will bring a deep understanding of protein engineering, molecular cloning, and advanced protein techniques to develop and optimize materials for water harvesting. A key focus of this role will be the development and execution of freezing assays to investigate the properties of ice nucleating proteins, critical for enhancing our water capture technologies. This role offers the opportunity to contribute to groundbreaking research that merges fundamental science with practical, real-world applications.

Key Responsibilities

1. Protein Engineering & Expression
   • Design, clone, and express genes encoding proteins in various expression systems, ensuring high-yield production.
   • Develop innovative protein constructs and engineered variants tailored for enhanced performance in ice nucleation applications.
2. Purification & Characterization
   • Purify proteins using advanced chromatography techniques and other purification methods to ensure high yield and stability.
   • Characterize protein structure and function, including cellular localization, binding affinities, self-assembly properties, and thermal stability.
   • Apply state of the art analytical techniques such as DLS, HPLC, and spectroscopic methods to assess size distribution, aggregation, and dispersion properties.
3. Functional Screening
   • Develop and execute ice nucleation assays to assess the efficiency and performance of novel proteins.
   • Establish and lead short- and long-term research strategies for functional screening of ice nucleating proteins.
   • Optimize assay conditions to improve reproducibility and sensitivity in real-world environmental conditions.
4. Integration & Collaboration
   • Collaborate with materials scientists and engineers to integrate biologically derived materials into functional sustainable solutions.
   • Conduct experimental troubleshooting and optimize processes for scalability and feasibility.
   • Work closely with interdisciplinary teams to translate fundamental research findings into scalable applications.
5. Documentation & Communication
   • Document and communicate research findings through detailed reports, presentations, and publications.
   • Prepare and deliver decision enabling research data packages to the leadership team.
   • Supervise and train junior research associate(s), fostering a collaborative and high-performance research environment.

Who you are

• Entrepreneurial scientist: You are a visionary scientist with a passion for innovation and real-world impact. You thrive in fast-paced, dynamic environments where creativity and initiative are essential. You are not just a researcher—you are a builder, eager to pioneer novel scientific discoveries and transform them into practical solutions that address one of the world’s most pressing challenges: water scarcity. You excel at pushing boundaries, questioning conventional wisdom, and finding groundbreaking ways to apply science for meaningful change.
• Relentless Pioneer: You thrive in new and unknown territory – capable of charting comprehensive but actionable plans, executing rapidly and iteratively to make progress, and reliable in delivering decisive readouts on time.
• Team player: You flourish in collaborative work environments with other highly-skilled individuals. You readily celebrate your peers’ victories and support their challenges.
• Effective communicator: You not only understand the science but are capable of conveying technical information in a clear, concise, and decisive manner.

Basic Qualifications

• PhD in structural biology, biochemistry, molecular biology, microbial ecology, or related field.
• 2-6+ years of industry experience in biotech or pharma companies, developing and executing screening assays. Highly relevant post-doc experience is welcome.
• Proven experience with molecular cloning, protein expression in bacterial, yeast, or mammalian systems, and protein purification.
• A strong background in self-assembling proteins and protein-protein interactions is preferred.
• Experience developing and running ice nucleation assays, including assessing freezing temperatures and nucleation efficiency.
• Familiarity with structural characterization tools such as X-ray crystallography, NMR, or cryo-EM is a plus.
• Excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to work collaboratively in a multidisciplinary environment.
• Strong communication and organizational skills, with a track record of successful project management and scientific documentation.
• Experience collaborating with and guiding CROs on out-sourced projects highly desirable.

Join us in shaping the future of sustainability through cutting-edge biology!

About Flagship

Flagship Pioneering is a bioplatform innovation company that invents and builds platform companies, each with the potential for multiple products that transform human health or sustainability. Since its launch in 2000, Flagship has originated and fostered more than 100 scientific ventures, resulting in more than $90 billion in aggregate value. Many of the companies Flagship has founded have addressed humanity’s most urgent challenges: vaccinating billions of people against COVID-19, curing intractable diseases, improving human health, preempting illness, and feeding the world by improving the resiliency and sustainability of agriculture.  Flagship has been recognized twice on FORTUNE’s “Change the World” list, an annual ranking of companies that have made a positive social and environmental impact through activities that are part of their core business strategies, and has been twice named to Fast Company’s annual list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies. Learn more about Flagship at www.flagshippioneering.com.

Flagship Pioneering and our ecosystem companies are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status.

At Flagship, we recognize there is no perfect candidate. If you have some of the experience listed above but not all, please apply anyway. Experience comes in many forms, skills are transferable, and passion goes a long way. We are dedicated to building diverse and inclusive teams and look forward to learning more about your unique background.

Recruitment & Staffing Agencies: Flagship Pioneering and its affiliated Flagship Lab companies (collectively, “FSP”) do not accept unsolicited resumes from any source other than candidates. The submission of unsolicited resumes by recruitment or staffing agencies to FSP or its employees is strictly prohibited unless contacted directly by Flagship Pioneering’s internal Talent Acquisition team. Any resume submitted by an agency in the absence of a signed agreement will automatically become the property of FSP, and FSP will not owe any referral or other fees with respect thereto.