Research Associate, Process Development
About this Position:
The Research Associate I position will support process development by assisting in the development of methods for generation and purification of various bacteriophages. The opportunity also exists to expand into other programs within the development pipeline.
Job description and technical requirements:
- Contribute to development and optimization of bacteriophage production and purification
- Carry out bacteriophage production and purification experiments in collaboration with senior associates and scientists
- Work with bacteriophages and bacteria, including media preparation, bacterial amplification, bacteriophage propagation, and specific assays as needed
- Work with purification systems as needed (including tangential flow filtration, FPLC)
- Accurately prepare large quantities of buffer and CIP solutions
- Develop and optimize new assays as needed
- Grow and maintain bacterial cultures and bacteriophage stocks
- Process, analyze and organize large data sets
- Maintain laboratory notebook and accurate records of daily experiments
- Understand and comply with company standard operating procedures and safety procedures
- Read and understand scientific language, literature and publications as necessary
- Assist in general upkeep of laboratory and maintain a clean and organized work environment
- Other duties as assigned
Qualifications and Experience:
- Minimum Qualifications
- Must have a Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree in Microbiology, Cell Biology, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Physical Chemistry or a related field. Experience with microbiology preferred.
- Must have prior laboratory experience in a lab or research setting.
- Must demonstrate strong scientific knowledge and critical thinking.
- Must demonstrate strong analytical, creative, and problem-solving skills.
- Must be able to understand and quickly master new equipment, particularly complex liquid flow paths.
- Demonstrated experience with protein, DNA, or viral purification by standard chromatography methods as well as fluency with the theoretical concepts underlying protein purification.
- Understanding of statistics and statistical software to interpret experimental results.
- Ability to quickly learn new techniques, instruments, software, and assays
- Excellent English communication and reading/writing skills.
- Must be reliable, organized, detail oriented, and a self-starter with the ability to prioritize and work with minimal supervision.
- Strong team-player and able to work well in groups and independently.
- Preferred Qualifications
- Experience in upstream and downstream process development scale-up
- Experience working with and maintaining bacteria with excellent aseptic techniques.
- Familiarity with protein/virus purification techniques
- Strong additional interest and experience in chemistry, engineering, and/or physics.
- Hands-on experience using chromatography equipment such as Akta Pure or Akta Avant.
- Demonstrated experience with analytics and characterization of proteins and antibodies (SDS-PAGE, Western Blot, residual Host Cell Proteins, ELISA residual endotoxin, residual DNA, HPLC).
- Familiarity with GMP and working with SOPs
Working Conditions:
This is a full– time position for work in a laboratory environment. The position requires wearing personal protective equipment. Occasionally, may require lifting or moving equipment up to 20 pounds and may require standing for extended durations throughout the day. Upon request, reasonable accommodations will be offered to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions. There is little to no travel required of this position, with the exception of required training and possible conference or event attendance.
About Armata Pharmaceuticals, Inc.:
Armata is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development of pathogen-specific bacteriophage therapeutics for the treatment of antibiotic-resistant and difficult-to-treat bacterial infections using its proprietary bacteriophage-based technology. Armata is developing and advancing a broad pipeline of natural and synthetic phage candidates, including clinical candidates for Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and other pathogens. Armata is committed to advancing phage with drug development expertise that spans bench to clinic including in-house phage specific cGMP manufacturing.
Pay: $32.00 – $38.00 per hour
Send cover letter and CV to: careers@armatapharma.com
