Company Summary:

Serif Biomedicines, Inc. is a privately held, early-stage biotechnology company developing a novel approach to gene therapy that can address currently untreatable diseases.

Serif Biomedicines was founded by Flagship Pioneering, an innovation enterprise that conceives, creates, resources, and grows first-in-category life sciences companies.

Flagship Pioneering has created over 100 groundbreaking companies over the past twenty years, all of which are pioneering novel and proprietary biological, industrial, and engineering approaches to solve major needs in human health and sustainability. These companies include Moderna (MRNA), Syros Pharmaceuticals (SYRS), Seres Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MCRB), Generate Biomedicines, Tessera Tx, Evelo Biosciences (EVLO), and Indigo Agriculture.

The role

We are seeking an outstanding Research Associate, to join us in building the next generation of Programmable Medicines. We’re looking for a versatile molecular virologist / biochemist with experience in production and characterization of nucleic acids and in molecular cloning. We’re looking for an individual who brings scientific rigor, intellectual curiosity, enthusiasm, and a desire to innovate new nucleic acid therapeutics. This individual will have the opportunity to work in a dynamic and fast-paced entrepreneurial environment, working as part of a highly collaborative and growing team.

Key responsibilities

• Plasmid Production: Design, execute, and troubleshoot molecular cloning of inserts with varying lengths and compositions, ensuring accurate plasmid sequences.
• Inventory Management: Maintain organized storage of produced materials and keep detailed electronic records of material characteristics and storage locations.
• Enzymatic Reaction Optimization: Optimize and troubleshoot enzymatic reactions to enhance nucleic acid production and purity.
• Nucleic Acid Production: Follow and refine protocols to produce high-quality DNA and RNA with diverse expression cassettes.

Who you are

• Technical expert:
• You have 2+ years of industry experience, in immunology or biochemistry, and you’re experienced in nucleic acid and protein innovation, production, purification, and assay development. Or you have a master’s degree and 1+ years of experience in industry and want to be part of a dynamic team.
• Strong experience in independently designing and performing required experiments, as well as interpreting data and sharing results with the team.
• Strong, hands-on experience in cloning through multiple methods (e.g., Gibson, Golden Gate, etc.)
• Solid understanding of enzymatic reactions in nucleic acid synthesis and subsequent modifications.
• Deep understanding of enzymatic reactions involved in nucleic acid synthesis.

• You understand complex scientific concepts and can communicate technical information clearly, concisely, and decisively. Highly organized with strong attention to detail, you excel at systematically arranging and managing information and materials and can create and maintain electronic databases of materials produced, ensuring accessibility to other scientists.
• You flourish in collaborative work environments with other highly skilled individuals. You readily support your colleagues’ challenges and celebrate their victories.

Values and Behaviors:

Flagship is an experiment in institutional, entrepreneurial, and innovation practiced in the context of a small company with an insurgent mindset. We are seeking individuals with an entrepreneurial spirit, strong communication skills, and comfort in working in and contributing to a dynamic and cross-functional team environment.

At Flagship, we recognize there is no perfect candidate. If you have some of the experience listed above but not all, we encourage you to apply anyway. Experience comes in many forms, skills are transferable, and passion goes a long way. We are dedicated to building diverse and inclusive teams and look forward to learning more about your unique background. The level of the role will be commensurate with the education and years of experience of the identified candidates.

Flagship Pioneering and our ecosystem companies are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status.

Recruitment & Staffing Agencies: Flagship Pioneering and its affiliated Flagship Lab companies (collectively, “FSP”) do not accept unsolicited resumes from any source other than candidates. The submission of unsolicited resumes by recruitment or staffing agencies to FSP or its employees is strictly prohibited unless contacted directly by Flagship Pioneering’s internal Talent Acquisition team. Any resume submitted by an agency in the absence of a signed agreement will automatically become the property of FSP, and FSP will not owe any referral or other fees with respect thereto.

The salary range for this role is $65,000 - $93,500. Compensation for the role will depend on a number of factors, including a candidate’s qualifications, skills, competencies, and experience. FL87 currently offers healthcare coverage, annual incentive program, retirement benefits and a broad range of other benefits. Compensation and benefits information is based on FL87's good faith estimate as of the date of publication and may be modified in the future.

Company Description: 

In today’s healthcare system, disease diagnosis often relies on invasive procedures, such as biopsies, which enable direct interrogation of cellular and tissue health at the suspected source of disease. Due to their invasiveness, cost, and general inconvenience to the patient, biopsies are often conducted after onset of symptomatic disease presenting one of the largest barriers to delivering interventions early in disease progression when they are likely to be most impactful. Flagship Labs 103, Inc. is a privately held early-stage company that is building advanced technological and computational platforms to pioneer the detection of cellular dynamics from minimally invasive biospecimens that can be leveraged to connect individuals to the most effective interventions to prevent onset and progression of disease

Job Description:

We are seeking an experienced and motivated Senior Scientist to join and lead our conjugation efforts to drive FL103’s programs forward. Ideal candidates will be self-motivated, independent, and committed to the generation of high-quality data within a fast-paced and innovative research team. The Conjugation Biochemist will support ongoing bioconjugation projects in several research and development areas.

Essential Responsibilities:

• Design, synthesis, purification and analysis of oligonucleotide-conjugates on antibodies and other modalities. Develop and optimize conjugation protocols using established and novel chemistries and technologies as part of an assay development platform.
• Collaborate closely with the assay development team to guide and optimize conjugates to support FL103’s programs.
• Work as part of a cross-functional team to manage and maintain progress against multiple project timelines, deliver routine updates, and communicate progress to the team.
• Establish and maintain excellent working relationships with critical collaborative partners throughout the company to advance discovery research activities to pre-clinical development.
• Contribute to the preparation of research reports and presentations for internal project teams, leadership team, and external audiences.
• Maintain updated and well-organized lab notebooks and batch records.

Required Qualifications:

• Ph.D. in Biochemistry, Chemistry, or related scientific discipline
• 5+ years of bioconjugation-related industrial experience, preferably in designing, preparing, and validating oligonucleotide conjugates.
• Understanding project timelines and deliverables and plans/coordinate project work accordingly with departmental, functional, and external stakeholders.
• Strong problem-solving skills and a proactive attitude towards exploring new approaches.
• Demonstrates strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to clearly present complex scientific data to cross‑functional and senior leadership teams.
• Hands-on expertise with current and cutting-edge bioconjugation techniques for antibodies, proteins, peptides, and other biomolecules.
• Demonstrated hands‑on experience in analytical characterization of conjugates with a strong analytical mindset.  Proficiency in purification techniques such as RP-HPLC, FPLC, SEC, and IEX.
• Able to work independently or in cross-functional team settings with minimal supervision.
• Adaptable and flexible, able to navigate shifting priorities and handle day‑to‑day challenges with professionalism and confidence in fast‑moving environments.
• Self‑motivated with strong interpersonal, organizational, and communication skills, and able to take a hands‑on approach in a dynamic, fast‑paced, and collaborative environment.

About Flagship Pioneering

Flagship Pioneering is a bioplatform innovation company that invents and builds platform companies, each with the potential for multiple products that transform human health or sustainability. Since its launch in 2000, Flagship has originated and fostered more than 100 scientific ventures, resulting in more than $90 billion in aggregate value. Many of the companies Flagship has founded have addressed humanity’s most urgent challenges: vaccinating billions of people against COVID-19, curing intractable diseases, improving human health, preempting illness, and feeding the world by improving the resiliency and sustainability of agriculture.  Flagship has been recognized twice on FORTUNE’s “Change the World” list, an annual ranking of companies that have made a positive social and environmental impact through activities that are part of their core business strategies, and has been twice named to Fast Company’s annual list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies. Learn more about Flagship at www.flagshippioneering.com

Flagship Pioneering is committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status.

At Flagship, we recognize there is no perfect candidate. If you have some of the experience listed above but not all, please apply anyway. Experience comes in many forms, skills are transferable, and passion goes a long way. We are dedicated to building diverse and inclusive teams and look forward to learning more about your unique background.

Recruitment & Staffing Agencies: Flagship Pioneering and its affiliated Flagship Lab companies (collectively, “FSP”) do not accept unsolicited resumes from any source other than candidates. The submission of unsolicited resumes by recruitment or staffing agencies to FSP or its employees is strictly prohibited unless contacted directly by Flagship Pioneering’s internal Talent Acquisition team. Any resume submitted by an agency in the absence of a signed agreement will automatically become the property of FSP, and FSP will not owe any referral or other fees with respect thereto.

The salary range for this role is $126,000 - $181,500. Compensation for the role will depend on a number of factors, including a candidate’s qualifications, skills, competencies, and experience. FL103 currently offers healthcare coverage, annual incentive program, retirement benefits and a broad range of other benefits. Compensation and benefits information is based on FL103's good faith estimate as of the date of publication and may be modified in the future.