Scientist, Protein Biochemistry Full-time

Scientist, Protein Biochemistry

At GSK, we have bold ambitions for patients, aiming to positively impact the health of 2.5 billion people by the end of the decade. R&D is committed to discovering and delivering transformational vaccines and medicines to prevent and change the course of disease.

The US Protein Biochemistry team at the GSK Vaccines R&D Center in Cambridge, MA is seeking an enthusiastic and highly motivated protein biochemist to join the team supporting vaccine-related initiatives. As a scientist, you will need to demonstrate scientific knowledge and be proficient in various aspects of a project, from protein expression and purification to biochemical/biophysical characterization. The position will require active collaboration with diverse teams both inside and outside the organization to address key challenges with the best scientific insights possible.

You will be expected to use and maintain a scientifically current, state-of-the-art laboratory environment, introduce new methods and protocols related to your area of expertise, perform complex data management and data interpretation tasks, and make effective decisions that influence project direction. Your critical thinking skills will be crucial. You will need to anticipate problems, proactively seek solutions, and use your scientific expertise to solve project-related problems.

Your multicultural responsibilities will also be part of the role. You will need to interact with scientists based in other centers or countries, ensuring that you can access the most up-to-date knowledge and capabilities to efficiently fulfill your mission.

Key Responsibilities:

• Design, optimize, and execute scalable, high-throughput protein expression strategies across multiple host systems (including bacterial, mammalian, and insect platforms) to support vaccine discovery and development programs.
• Develop, standardize, refine and execute robust purification pipelines using chromatographic techniques such as affinity, ion exchange, and size exclusion chromatography, with a focus on reproducibility, efficiency, and pipeline reuse across projects.
• Implement parallelized expression and purification workflows to rapidly evaluate constructs, optimize conditions, and enable timely delivery of high-quality protein reagents to downstream teams.
• Deliver consistent, well-characterized protein reagents to support biophysical, structural biology, and in vivo studies, ensuring seamless integration with downstream experimental pipelines.
• Perform high-throughput biochemical and biophysical characterization of purified proteins to assess purity, homogeneity, stability, and functionality, enabling data-driven decisions on construct and workflow progression.
• Document experimental workflows and results thoroughly, ensuring appropriate quality control, reproducibility, and intellectual property support, and enabling reagent and method reuse by other groups.
• Collaborate closely with cross-functional and geographically distributed teams to align protein production strategies with broader project needs and timelines, contributing effectively to multidisciplinary vaccine R&D efforts.
• Author, present, and communicate scientific findings and workflow updates through internal reports, project meetings, and external scientific forums as appropriate.

Basic Qualifications:

• PhD (with 0+ years of experience) in biochemistry, molecular biology, protein chemistry, structural biology, or a related field; Master's degree (with 3+ years of experience), or a BS (with 5+ years of relevant industrial experience).
• Two or more years of experience in protein expression and protein production in mammalian cell cultures, with the ability to design, execute, and interpret complex, multi-step experimental workflows supporting end-to-end protein pipelines.
• Two or more years of experience performing protein purification and detailed characterization, including assessment of purity, homogeneity, and activity, in a manner consistent with reproducible, reusable workflows.
• One or more years of experience in the operation and maintenance of AKTA or similar purification platforms.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Postdoctoral or industrial research experience in protein biochemistry, structural biology, molecular biology, computational biology, or related disciplines, particularly in environments supporting pipeline-based or multi-project protein production.
• Experience in multiple diverse protein expression systems including bacterial, insect cell, yeast and mammalian cell culture.
• Experience contributing to or leading workflow optimization, method development, or protocol standardization efforts that improve throughput, data quality, and reproducibility across protein expression and purification pipelines.
• Working knowledge of biophysical and analytical techniques used to characterize proteins at scale, such as mass photometry, mass spectrometry, differential scanning fluorimetry, HPLC/SEC, DSC, ITC, BLI, and SPR, enabling rapid feedback into expression and purification workflows.
• Demonstrated ability to manage uncertainty, shifting priorities, and timeline constraints while maintaining pipeline efficiency and scientific rigor.
• Strong oral and written communication skills, with the ability to clearly present experimental results, workflow improvements, and scientific conclusions to internal and external audiences.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to manage, interpret, and draw conclusions from complex experimental datasets generated across expression and purification pipelines.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently while contributing effectively within cross-functional and collaborative scientific teams.