Senior Scientist, Protein Sciences

Internal Job Title: Senior Scientist I/II

Position Location: Onsite, Cambridge, MA

About the role:

Biomedical Research (BR) is the innovation engine of Novartis, focusing on powerful new approaches that will help produce therapeutic breakthroughs for patients. The Discovery Sciences department within BR drives early-stage drug discovery and champions innovative therapeutics.

The Protein Sciences group in Discovery Sciences is an interdisciplinary team that has expertise in protein chemistry, enzymology, biophysics, NMR, X-ray crystallography, and electron microscopy. Our mission is to enable structure-guided drug discovery for multiple disease areas and to identify innovative approaches that can address difficult drug targets. We are currently recruiting a Senior Scientist with a strong background and track record in protein biochemistry. The candidate will focus primarily on the production of membrane proteins. The responsibilities of this new position include designing protein constructs for optimal expression in various cell lines, developing methodologies for purification of membrane proteins, and protein characterization with biophysical and structural techniques. You will closely collaborate with our scientists and contribute to protein production efforts on novel and challenging drug-discovery projects.

This is an excellent opportunity to join the vibrant research community of Novartis BR in Cambridge, MA to work on various early-stage drug discovery projects. The successful candidate will be a curious and highly motivated protein scientist with a collaborative spirit and excellent organizational and communication skills.

Key Responsibilities:

• Develop and execute protocols to produce various membrane proteins targets for small molecule hit generation, hit validation and structural biology studies of protein-small molecule complexes.
• Design protein constructs based on literature and AI-powered structure prediction tools.
• Protein expression in mammalian and insect cell culture lines.
• Protein purification using various chromatography techniques and FPLC equipment.
• Collaborate with colleagues to characterize membrane proteins using biophysical and structural biology techniques.
• Maintains a high level of professional expertise through accurate and detailed record keeping and familiarity with scientific literature.
• Work collaboratively with lab associates in a matrix setting to expand our protein production toolkit.
• Present and communicate results with protein science colleagues and project teams.

Minimum Requirements:

• BS/MS degree in biochemistry, life sciences, molecular biology or related field with at least 4 years of relevant postgraduate laboratory research experience.
• Proven in-depth knowledge and hands-on experience in protein chemistry, including protein expression, purification, and characterization.
• Experience with molecular biology and protein sequence analysis.
• Excellent collaboration, communication (oral and written) and organizational skills and the ability to present work formally to project teams and scientific research committees.
• Strong desire to learn new techniques in the areas of protein biochemistry, biophysics and structural biology.

Desirable Requirements:

• Experience with membrane protein biochemistry including expression, purification, characterization and functional assays
• Previous exposure to structural biology research including structural analysis and modeling, x-ray crystallography and/or cryo-EM.
• Experience in cell line development and maintenance.

Why Novartis: Our purpose is to reimagine medicine to improve and extend people’s lives and our vision is to become the most valued and trusted medicines company in the world. How can we achieve this? With our people. It is our associates that drive us each day to reach our ambitions. Be a part of this mission and join us! Learn more here: https://www.novartis.com/about/strategy/people-and-culture

You’ll receive: You can find everything you need to know about our benefits and rewards in the Novartis Life Handbook: https://www.novartis.com/careers/benefits-rewards

Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion / EEO: The Novartis Group of Companies are Equal Opportunity Employers and take pride in maintaining a diverse environment. We do not discriminate in recruitment, hiring, training, promotion or other employment practices for reasons of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital or veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status. We are committed to building diverse teams, representative of the patients and communities we serve, and we strive to create an inclusive workplace that cultivates bold innovation through collaboration and empowers our people to unleash their full potential.

Novartis Compensation and Benefit Summary: The pay range for this position at commencement of employment is expected to be between $92,800 to $153,600/year; however, while salary ranges are effective from 1/1/24 through 12/31/24, fluctuations in the job market may necessitate adjustments to pay ranges during this period. Further, final pay determinations will depend on various factors, including, but not limited to geographical location, experience level, knowledge, skills, and abilities. The total compensation package for this position may also include other elements, including a sign-on bonus, restricted stock units, and discretionary awards in addition to a full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits (including 401(k) eligibility and various paid time off benefits, such as vacation, sick time, and parental leave), dependent on the position offered. Details of participation in these benefit plans will be provided if an employee receives an offer of employment. If hired, employee will be in an “at-will position” and the Company reserves the right to modify base salary (as well as any other discretionary payment or compensation program) at any time, including for reasons related to individual performance, Company or individual department/team performance, and market factors.

Join our Novartis Network: If this role is not suitable to your experience or career goals but you wish to stay connected to hear more about Novartis and our career opportunities, join the Novartis Network here: https://talentnetwork.novartis.com/network