The group of Prof. Georg Seelig is seeking a highly skilled and innovative researcher with experience in performing and analyzing massively parallel reporter assays (MPRAs) to join our dynamic team. The ideal candidate will have a proven track record in engineering human cells (e.g. through genome editing, CAR or similar transgene integration etc). The candidate will also have experience in machine learning-guided design of proteins or cis-regulatory elements and related methods. This role involves the design of novel mRNA, gene or cell therapies with increased specificity.

Principal Responsibilities

• Designing and testing of synthetic cis-regulatory elements and other modalities for targeting activity of an mRNA or gene-based expression system to specific cell types.

• Genome engineering of human immune cells.

• Designing and performing massively parallel reporter assays (MPRAs) with sequencing readouts to identify cis-regulatory elements that result in high mRNA stability, cell type or state-specific expression or similar.

• Developing and applying approaches for performing MPRAs in primary immune cells.

• Developing and applying novel single-cell analysis techniques including readout of reporter assays.

• Collaborating with cross-functional teams to advance testing of nucleic acid therapeutics.

• Analyzing data, preparing detailed reports, planning follow-on experiments, and presenting findings to internal teams and at scientific conferences.

• Staying abreast of latest developments in genomics, synthetic immunology and related topics to continuously improve methodologies and outcomes.

• Preparing technical reports, summaries, protocols, and quantitative analyses.

• Composing scientific manuscripts for publication in peer-reviewed journals and patent applications.

• Helping train and mentor junior scientists and technical staff.

Required Qualifications and Skills

• Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering, Bioengineering or a related field.

• Proven track record in performing sequencing-based high throughput assays (MPRAs, Sort-seq, etc.) to identify functional protein variants, cis-regulatory elements or to characterize transcription factors.

• Strong background in molecular biology and mammalian cell work, ideally including work with primary human immune cells or induced pluripotent stem cells.

• Experience with next generation sequencing, flow cytometry and related high throughput techniques.

• Strong track record in applying bioinformatics workflows for analysis of sequencing data.

• Proven experience with data science, python programming, machine learning and related techniques.

• Strong communication skills with the ability to present complex scientific data to diverse audiences.

• Ability to work independently and constructively as part of a team in a collaborative scientific environment.

• Attention to detail and problem-solving skills, with a proactive approach to overcoming research and project challenges.