KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Contribute creatively to the design and development of novel assays for characterizing therapeutic nucleic acids for CRISPR-based therapies
• Develop scalable and rigorous assays for measuring gene expression, RNA stability and degradation, pharmacokinetics, and therapeutic efficacy
• Liaise with CROs to qualify and validate assays developed by the team
• Routinely develop standardized protocols for assays
• Plan, design, execute and designate assays for CRISPR therapeutic development
• Provide consultation to other program teams on dPCR, ddPCR, qPCR, RNA-seq and other relevant assays routinely used in early research and later stage drug development
• Train and provide instructions to junior members of assay development and associated teams on assays
• Document experiments in electronic lab notebooks and present present data when needed
• Provide support to automation team scientists to onboard protein detection protocols to high throughput systems
• Lead team and routinely develop and improve processes to better team functionality

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• PhD in Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, Biochemistry, Bioengineering, or related fields with 3+ years of relevant professional experience in industry or academia following completion of PhD. For non-PhD candidates, an MS degree with 6+ years of professional experience is required. 
• At least 3 years of hands-on experience with digital PCR, qRT-PCR, droplet digital PCR, RNA-seq and other nucleic acid based molecular biology techniques
• 2+ years of hands-on experience in at least two of the following areas as they relate to gene therapy drug development: NAT assay validation and qualification; Design and implementation and novel DNA and RNA quantification methods; Generating robust standardized protocols and SOPs as release assays
• Prior experience with CRO management
• Prior experience filing INDs for gene therapies

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Background in transcriptome analyses, RNA-seq, single cell RNA-seq
• Background knowledge of CRISPR-based gene editing therapies and modalities including insertions, base and prime editing, and epigenetic editing
• 1+ years of experience managing direct reports
• Working proficiency with common software and data analysis tools (Benchling, Excel, GraphPad Prism, JMP, Biorender)
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Active engagement with concepts of diversity and inclusion 

BENEFITS

• Company-paid health/vision/dental benefits
• Unlimited vacation and generous sick time
• Company-sponsored meals and snacks
• Wellness, caregiver and ergonomics benefits
• 401(k) with company matching