AbCellera is breaking the barriers of conventional drug development to propel antibody-based medicines from target to clinic. We are a team of scientists, engineers, creatives, and business professionals who believe that advancing science enhances lives. We have developed technologies to unlock high-value drug targets, including antibody-drug conjugates and T-cell engagers for cancer, and complex transmembrane proteins for indications such as metabolic and endocrine conditions, pain, and autoimmunity.

We are looking for a motivated and talented individual currently pursuing a PhD in Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, or Structural Biology to join our Protein Engineering team as an intern for an 8 month term. You will execute and implement workflows that will inform therapeutic development in two areas: (1) genomics surveillance of viral pathogens, and (2) protein and antibody engineering. In this role, you will interact with a diverse team in a fast-paced environment, liaising between wet-lab scientists, protein engineers, data scientists, and software engineers.

While in this position, based in beautiful Vancouver, you will receive guidance and supervision from experienced team members within the Protein Engineering team. The internship is designed to offer exposure to real-world projects and the opportunity to contribute to the advancement of antibody-based medicines from target to clinic within Canada.

How you might spend your days

• Develop bioinformatic tools and processes to monitor viral evolution of emerging pathogens, with the purpose of enabling the rapid identification of potential escape variants that may impact antibody therapeutics. This will involve identifying publicly available viral genome sequences, calling variants, classifying strains, and examining how genomic changes relate to viral pathogenicity, immune evasion, or drug resistance
• Develop, execute, and optimize antibody bioinformatics and in-silico protein engineering tools and workflows to accelerate therapeutic development. This will involve evaluation of antibody sequence diversity and sequence risks to help identify drug candidates, as well as implementation of strategies for sequence optimization and liability remediation
• Develop data visualizations and summary reports of complex data sets to help drive key scientific insights
• Prepare and present materials to educate internal and external partner teams, and communicate strategies, key findings, and implications 

We’d love to hear from you if

• You are excited about the opportunity to develop and execute computational workflows to solve real-world drug discovery problems
• You have solid experience with bioinformatics tools for genome and evolutionary analyses, including sequence alignment, variant calling, phylogenetics, and data visualization, ideally in the context of viruses
• You have experience working with protein sequences and probing sequence-structure relationships to understand and optimize protein function
• You have working knowledge of antibody structure and function, and awareness of tools and techniques applicable to sequence optimization of antibodies (desirable) 
• You have excellent programming skills in Python or another programming language, and experience collaborating on a shared codebase
• You are strongly self-motivated and work independently to identify project needs and follow that up with building and implementing solutions
• You are a collaborative team player who enjoys working with multidisciplinary teams to meet project deliverables and timelines
• You have experience preparing scientific reports and presentations to communicate research findings and drive decision-making

What we offer

AbCellera’s hiring range for this role is CAD $4,600 - $5,200 per month, commensurate with your education and job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. In addition to base pay, we offer a number of ways to support AbCellerites in maximizing their work-life synergy. You will have a vacation allowance as well as additional days off as part of our company-wide office closures (a real value to all!), and sick leave time while on your internship. Scientific and technical mentorship is a priority. And you’ll find we prioritize teams and social groups to build community and connections across AbCellera.

About AbCellera

AbCellera is a global company that discovers and develops antibody-based medicines that help people live longer, happier, and more productive lives. We are focused on bringing innovative medicines to patients, both by advancing our internal pipeline of programs and partnering with companies that have novel science or innovative technology.

And it all starts with our team. We’ve built a place where people feel they are part of something bigger than themselves. A place that exists to push the limits of science and technology, and aims to bring better therapies to patients.

We look for people with drive and energy. Idealists. People we love and people we trust. This may be unconventional, but it is the key to our success. 

To apply

Please submit your application through our website and refer to Job ID 23278 in your cover letter. We apologize in advance, but we receive a large volume of applications and are only able to contact those who are selected for an interview. 

Start date: ASAP

Duration: 8 months

Location: Vancouver, BC

Workplace arrangement: On-site