Senior/Principal Research Associate, Analytical Development

Company Overview:

Beam Therapeutics is committed to establishing the leading, fully integrated platform for precision genetic medicines. To achieve this vision, Beam has assembled a platform that includes a suite of gene editing and delivery technologies and is in the process of building internal manufacturing capabilities. Beam’s suite of gene editing technologies is anchored by base editing, a proprietary technology that is designed to enable precise, predictable and efficient single base changes, at targeted genomic sequences, without making double-stranded breaks in the DNA. This has the potential to enable a wide range of potential therapeutic editing strategies that Beam is using to advance a diversified portfolio of base editing programs. Beam is a values-driven organization committed to its people, cutting-edge science, and a vision of providing life-long cures to patients suffering from serious diseases.

Position Overview:

We are seeking a Senior/Principal Research Associate to join our Analytical Research and Development group to support robustness testing, characterization, optimization and automation for current Beam programs. The ideal candidate will be self-motivated, technically competent, and responsible for performing/supporting assay optimizations, qualifications, and validations of product release and product characterization assays. The successful applicant will have a strong scientific background and desire to learn cell therapy, immunotherapy, and analytical method development.

Responsibilities: 

• Support the development, design, and executing experiments for process/product characterization testing
• Perform method robustness testing for mRNA, gRNA, DP methods for validation readiness
• Support Beam’s early phase method development and optimization
• Perform various automated routine sample testing
• Help with routine assay transfer, troubleshooting and improvements
• Record highly detailed documentation of experiments in an ELN system

Qualifications

• BS/MS in Life Sciences, Immunology, Chemistry, or related discipline with 6+ years of relevant experience
• Strong background with molecular and cell-based assays
• Experience in maintaining a laboratory notebook and following protocols
• Desire and drive to learn and understand the basic biological mechanisms underpinning our cell and gene therapy products
• Team player with excellent oral and written communication skills
• Independently motivated, detail-oriented, and excellent problem-solving abilities
• Excellent organizational skills towards multi-tasking in an extremely fast-paced environment with changing priorities
• Experience with data analysis using JMP, python or R is a plus
• Experience with authoring SOPs, method qualification and technology transfer preferred