Scientist, Platform RNA Sciences

The Role

The Scientist, Platform RNA Sciences, will work on key projects to advance Sail's first-in-class programmable circular RNA technology (Endless RNA™ or eRNA). This role works cross-functionally to perform hypothesis-driven experiments and high-throughput screens to improve our eRNA designs, with the goal to maximize circularization, and enhance RNA stability and translation.

The successful candidate is self-motivated, curious and creative, thinks outside of the box and has a can-do mindset. The team looks forward to helping you strive in this exciting and fast-paced environment to make a real-world impact on patients' lives.

Responsibilities

• Conceive and conduct pooled and array screens to improve our eRNA designs, enabling higher product purity and function
• Design hypothesis-driven experiments based on state-of-the-art RNA biology to refine our eRNA designs
• Evaluate and develop alternative circularization strategies
• Determine circularization efficiency and impurity levels by running analytic assays
• Design properly controlled experiments, generate high-quality data, and run rigorous statistical analysis
• Maintain detailed documentation in electronic lab notebooks
• Author standard operating procedures (SOPs), study summaries, and technical reports
• Present findings clearly in oral or written formats to internal and external stakeholders to enable alignment and decision-making

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, or a related field, or M.S. with 6+ years of focused, full-time research experience in RNA technologies
• Strong background in RNA biology with demonstrated skillset in relevant molecular and biochemical techniques, such as in vitro transcription (IVT), RNA purification, oligo-dT purification, column chromatography, capillary gel electrophoresis, RT-qPCR, RNA-seq, Nanopore sequencing
• Experience using data analysis and information management tools, such as Excel, Graphic Prism, R, JMP, SnapGene, Benchling, Smartsheet, Jira
• Excellent problem-solving skills with the ability to independently design and carry out experiments
• Ability to manage multiple tasks at once while knowing how to prioritize
• Strong collaborative spirit and excellent organizational and communication skills
• Excellent record keeping

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) library preparation
• Working knowledge in engineering ribozyme, aptamer or other complex RNA structures