Bioinformatics Intern - Protein Design

About the role

At Syngenta, our goal is to build the most collaborative and trustworthy team in agriculture, providing top-quality seeds and innovative crop protection solutions that improve farmers' success. We invite you to help shape the future of agriculture and play a role in safely feeding the world while caring for our planet.

Syngenta's Bioinformatics Team is seeking a Protein Design Intern in Durham, NC. This internship role will be part of a high-performance scientific team, developing cutting-edge skills in computational protein design to deliver innovative solutions for agricultural biotechnology.

As part of Syngenta's Emerging Talent Program, you will gain hands-on experience, exposure to day-to-day business operations, and opportunities to apply your academic knowledge to real-world challenges while developing your professional skills.

Duration: May 2027 - August 2027

Role Purpose

• Apply computational protein design methods to generate novel protein candidates and minibinders to selected targets.
• Optimize workflows that integrate protein design, structure prediction, and ranking approaches to identify promising candidates.
• Evaluate designed protein variants using sequence- and structure-based analyses.

Accountabilities

• Leverage open-source protein design and structure prediction workflows using tools such as ProteinMPNN, BoltzGen, and Boltz-2.
• Design, rank, and filter protein candidates based on predicted structure, interface quality, and computational metrics.
• Perform structural analysis and annotation of designed proteins and protein-protein interfaces.
• Test and run computational protein design tools in Linux, HPC, or cloud-based environments such as AWS.
• Develop Python/Bash scripts for data processing, workflow automation, and visualization.
• Document workflows, create user guides and READMEs, and present findings to cross-functional teams.
• Collaborate with and take guidance from other scientists to refine design strategy based on biological insights.
• Summarize design results in clear reports, visualizations, and recommendations for follow-up testing.

Required Qualifications

Education

• Current MS or PhD student in Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, Structural Biology, Biochemistry, Computer Science, or related field.

Technical

• Proficiency in Python and basic Bash scripting.
• Basic understanding of protein structure concepts, including protein domains, structural alignment, and protein-protein interfaces.
• Familiarity with protein structure prediction methods such as Boltz-2 or AlphaFold.
• Familiarity with generative protein design or sequence design tools such as RFdiffusion or ProteinMPNN.
• Familiarity with protein structure visualization tools (PyMOL).
• Experience with Linux/Unix command-line environments.

Analytical

• Ability to work with large datasets and implement reproducible computational workflows.
• Strong problem-solving skills and attention to detail.
• Effective written and verbal communication skills.

Desired Qualifications

• Experience evaluating protein-protein interfaces using structural or energetic metrics (e.g. PyRosetta).
• Knowledge of protein databases such as PDB, UniProt, AlphaFoldDB, or ESM Metagenomic Atlas.
• Experience with HPC or cloud computing environments, such as AWS.
• Experience with workflow automation, containerized tools, or reproducible software environments.
• Self-motivated with ability to work independently and collaboratively.
• Enthusiasm for learning new computational methods and tools.
• Experience presenting technical work to diverse audiences.

What We Offer

• A culture that celebrates belonging and collaboration, promotes professional development and strives for a work-life balance that supports the team members.
• Competitive wages
• Ongoing career development resources
• The opportunity to work on meaningful, innovative projects that solve problems

• Syngenta is committed to creating a culture that celebrates belonging and collaboration, promotes professional development, and strives for a work-life balance that supports the team members
• Syngenta has been ranked as a top employer by Science Journal.
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