Scientist, Protein Purification

Gaithersburg, MD

AstraZeneca is a global, innovation-driven biopharmaceutical business that focuses on the discovery, development and commercialization of prescription medicines for some of the world's most serious diseases. But we are more than one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies. At AstraZeneca, we are proud to have a unique workplace culture that inspires innovation and collaboration through scientific research. Here, employees are empowered to express diverse perspectives and are made to feel valued, energized and rewarded for their ideas and creativity.

About the role

You will work as a member of the Protein Sciences group in Gaithersburg, MD, where you will be responsible for planning and executing the purification of proteins to advance the AstraZeneca pipeline and to perform protein purification on a milligram scale for a wide variety of proteins including both drug targets and complex biopharmaceutical drugs such as bi-specific antibodies or fusion proteins.

You will participate in solving protein purification problems such as aggregate removal, endotoxin removal, conjugation, untagged protein purification, and glycoform separation. You will coordinate closely with other groups to meet project timelines and company goals. You will also be analyzing and interpreting analytical data, and contributing to appropriate experimental plans. You will maintain accurate records of data and actively participate in laboratory organization.

Given the scope of this dynamic role and the need to multitask, it is essential to be a fast learner, excellent communicator, well organized, innovative and able to work independently when designing and executing experiments as well as to manage and prioritize tasks. Furthermore, you should demonstrate enthusiasm, motivation, attention to detail and willingness to learn new technologies, flexibility and confidence. The job is highly complex, requiring a good understanding of an understanding of the biological and chemical properties of recombinant proteins and data analyses.

Essential Requirements

As a Scientist Bioscience, your skills and qualifications will ideally include:

• B.S./B.A. in biochemistry, chemical/biochemical engineering, or related field.
• Experienced with FPLC purification of proteins at multi-milligram scale, including affinity, ion-exchange, and size-exclusion chromatography.
• Experienced with SDS-PAGE and Western blotting.
• Ability to troubleshoot and collaboratively resolve complex problems under tight time constraints.
• Good oral and written communication skills.
• Great teammate and customer focused mentality.

Desired Qualifications

• Experience with antibody structure, characterization and Fab cleavage methods.
• Experience solving challenging protein purification problems such as aggregate removal, endotoxin removal, conjugation, untagged protein purification, membrane protein purification, and glycoform separation.
• Experience with protein characterization by intact and peptide mass spectrometry.
• Experience with protein/protein complex size characterization by SEC-MALS.
• Experience with Octet or Biacore binding measurements.
• Experience with enzyme kinetics.
• Experience with transformation, culture, and expression of proteins in E. coli.
• Experience with ELISA binding measurements.

About Our Gaithersburg Oncology Hub

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.

So, what’s next?

Are you already envisioning yourself joining our team? Good! We can’t wait to hear from you!

If you’re curious to know more, please contact Bobbi Poole, our Talent Acquisition Partner.

Closing Date: January 7, 2023

Competitive remuneration and benefits apply

We offer a competitive Total Reward program including a market driven base salary, bonus and long term incentive. We have a generous paid time off program and a comprehensive benefits package.

Where can I find out more?

Our Social Media, Follow AstraZeneca on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/1603/

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AstraZeneca embraces diversity and equality of opportunity. We are committed to building an inclusive and diverse team representing all backgrounds, with as wide a range of perspectives as possible, and harnessing industry-leading skills. We believe that the more inclusive we are, the better our work will be. We welcome and consider applications to join our team from all qualified candidates, regardless of their characteristics. We follow all applicable laws and regulations on non-discrimination in employment (and recruitment), as well as work authorization and employment eligibility verification requirements.

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.