Scientist - BET Xpress

At AstraZeneca, we put patients first and strive to meet their unmet needs worldwide. Working here means being entrepreneurial, thinking big and working together to make the impossible a reality. If you are swift to action, confident to lead, willing to collaborate, and curious about what science can do, then you’re our kind of person.

About AstraZeneca in Gaithersburg, MD

Our Gaithersburg, Maryland facility creates life-changing medicines for people around the world. This campus employs more than 3,500 experts in our field and is only a short drive from Washington, DC. This modern and vibrant scientific campus is the home of R&D and Oncology in the US. Here, we play host to some of the most cutting-edge technology and lab spaces, all designed to inspire collaboration and cross-functional science. We believe employees benefit from being challenged and inspired at work. We are dedicated to creating a culture of inclusion and collaboration.

The Gaithersburg site offers a variety of amenities to help boost productivity and help keep our employees happy and healthy. This includes a fitness center, employee healthcare clinic, electric vehicle charging stations, dry cleaning, full-service cafeteria and copy center. This is where you’ll find newly-designed, activity-based work spaces to suit a variety of working styles while increasing collaboration between teams.

Summary of the Group

Biologics Engineering (BE) is responsible for the discovery and optimization of next generation biologics to create biological drug candidates for all key therapeutic areas such as oncology, respiratory and inflammation, cardiovascular, renal and metabolic diseases. We're constantly pushing the boundaries of science to deliver life-changing medicines to patients, with a passion for the development of in-house biologics discovery platforms and novel drug modalities to address unmet medical needs.

We are seeking a skilled and highly motivated Scientist to enhance our High Throughput Production & Screening (HTPS) capabilities of biologics. The successful candidate will play a critical role in a core group responsible for high-throughput cloning, expression & purification of antibody therapeutics on a microgram-to-milligram scale and be an advocate for utilizing various automation platforms. The selected individual will be a well-organized and a highly productive scientist that can design and execute experiments efficiently, as well as analyze, interpret and present data to multidisciplinary project teams.

Main Duties & Responsibilities

• Collaborate and work with a diverse group of scientists across all therapeutic areas to ensure timely progress in research projects.
• Execute high-throughput cloning, production and purification of protein therapeutics from bacterial or mammalian expression systems using process automation and liquid handling robotics.
• Biochemical, biophysical and functional profiling of antibodies and recombinant antibody fragments.
• Ability to solve process development problems and implement improved procedures.

Education & Experience Requirements

BA or MS in Biotechnology, Molecular Biology, Biochemistry or other relevant scientific field with 2 years of experience in antibody design and purifications.

Required Skills

• Experience in molecular and cell biology techniques, including; cloning, transfection and transduction methods.
• Experience in expression, purification and biochemical/biophysical characterization of various antibody formats.
• Experience in optimizing/troubleshooting affinity chromatographic techniques with a problem-solving mindset.
• Experience in sample tracking and laboratory logistics software.
• Proven ability to work independently, effectively plan and organize work activities and prioritize task completion to meet project deadlines.
• Track record of scientific innovation as evidenced by scientific publications, patents and oral presentations at conferences..

Desired Skills

• Experience in antibody discovery using several cloning technologies.
• Experience in various imaging/multicolor flow cytometry-based instruments and data analysis programs.
• Experience in tissue culture techniques and functional cell-based assay development.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills as well as the ability to work within teams.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills and effective presentation of complex scientific data to cross-functional and senior management.

Why AstraZeneca

At AstraZeneca when we see an opportunity for change, we seize it and make it happen, because any opportunity no matter how small, can be the start of something big. Delivering life-changing medicines is about being entrepreneurial - finding those moments and recognising their potential. Join us on our journey of building a new kind of organisation to reset expectations of what a bio-pharmaceutical company can be. This means we’re opening new ways to work, pioneering cutting edge methods and bringing unexpected teams together. Interested? Come and join our journey.

So, what’s next

Are you ready to bring new ideas and fresh thinking to the table? Brilliant! We have one seat available and we hope it’s yours.

Where can I find out more?

Check out our landing page for more information on our BPD group https://careers.astrazeneca.com/bpd

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AstraZeneca has taken critical steps to protecting colleagues, loved ones, and patients from COVID-19 and its variants. COVID-19 vaccination is required for all US employees, and weekly PCR COVID-19 testing is required for those who are unvaccinated or have an approved accommodation.