Research Associate/Sr. Research Associate, Virus Production, Cell And Vector Engineering

Seattle, WA

ShapeTX® is pioneering the field of programmable RNA medicines to repair the genetic causes of diseases. By merging innovations in AI and RNA technology to generate and analyze hundreds of billions of therapeutic possibilities, ShapeTX is developing breakthroughs in RNA editing, next-generation AAVs, and disruptive gene therapy manufacturing. The ShapeTX platform enables pharma innovators to design treatments across a wide range of diseases, including rare genetic disorders as well as debilitating conditions, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and many more. You can find us at shapetx.com and on LinkedIn and Twitter.

At ShapeTX, we are a dynamic team of professionals who are dedicated and passionate about making cures a reality. Through diversity of thought, scientific knowledge, professional rigor and focus we are merging cutting-edge science with extensive drug development expertise to unlock cures to many debilitating diseases.

Shape Therapeutics is headquartered in Seattle, Washington with a satellite site in Boston, Massachusetts.

Position Overview

ShapeTX is looking for a highly motivated individual with a strong passion for learning to join the growing Research team as Research Associate/Sr. Research Associate, Virus Production, Cell And Vector Engineering. In this role, the successful candidate will design and execute in vitro cell culture to generate AAV to support the early research pipeline and ShapeTX’s novel RNAfixTM and RNAskipTM technology platforms. An ideal candidate will have broad cell culture and virus production experience, as well as a collaborative spirit and a desire to work on a team in a fast-paced startup environment.

What You’ll Do:

  • Under supervision plan and execute rigorous and well-controlled experiments
  • Perform basic cell culture and transfection of mammalian cell lines
  • Harvest vector preps using cell lysis (sonication, clarification)
  • Analysis of viral output during AAV production by molecular methods such as qPCR
  • Analyze and communicate results in small team settings

What You Bring:

Preferred Qualifications:

  • BS/MS in molecular/cellular biology or other relevant scientific discipline +1-3 years experience in an industry setting
  • Ability to work both independently and collaboratively in a team-science environment
  • Ability to think outside the box and tackle challenges with a problem-solving, can-do attitude

Skills and Experience:

  • Cell culture experience: culturing mammalian cells with sterile technique, maintaining and harvesting media and virus from different cell lines 
  • Experience with molecular biology techniques and analysis (DNA/RNA purification, cloning, Sanger sequencing, qPCR, ddPCR, etc.)
  • Experience with cell-based analytics (flow cytometry/sorting)
  • Experience with transfecting mammalian cell lines
  • Ability to troubleshoot and think analytically
  • Stellar work ethic
  • A collaborative, team player and good lab citizen
  • Passion for benchwork
  • Demonstrates initiative
  • Exquisite attention to detail and organization

ShapeTX offers a robust benefits package, including but not limited to: Medical, Dental and Vision coverage for employees and their eligible dependents. We provide eligible employees with 12 paid Holidays plus a one-week winter break at year end. We are proud to offer a competitive paid parental leave benefit, an annual employee stipend for employees to use however they choose, a Flex Paid Time Off program (allowing flexible PTO for vacation, sick leave, and other purposes) and Company paid Long Term Disability. Employees are eligible to enroll in our Company’s voluntary 401k plan, voluntary Life/AD&D and Voluntary FSA’s.

The salary range for the Research Associate role is $61,000-$83,000, and the salary range for the Senior Research Associate is $72,000-$98,000. The hired applicant's placement within the range is based on qualifications and professional experience. Additional compensation may include annual target bonus and/or sign-on bonus, equity grant and relocation bonus.

We aspire to Shape Life! not only through our science, but also through our commitment to foster an inclusive environment that supports diverse perspectives and experiences.

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