Senior Scientist-Principal Scientist-Antibody Protein Engineering

ContactsBackSenior Scientist-Principal Scientist-Antibody Protein Engineering Berkeley, CA Full Time High Throughput DiscoveryApply NowThe heart of Prellis Bio’s strategy is the combination of novel, cutting-edge methods in machine learning, biology at scale, and next-gen antibody discovery that address long-standing industry-wide problems in the drug development pipeline. Prellis Biologics uses proprietary technology to 3D print human lymph node organoids, enabling the rapid & diverse discovery of human antibody therapeutic candidates for a range of applications. To drive this forward, we are assembling an incredible team of discovery biologists, computational scientists, and protein scientists who want to make a difference to this important problem.Position SummaryWe are seeking a Senior / Principal Scientist — Antibody Protein Engineering to join our High Throughput Discovery group. You will drive antibody design and optimization, maturing early hits into development-ready leads. You will be responsible for:Leading late-stage antibody design and optimization — affinity maturation, Fc engineering, and developability polishing to advance lead candidates toward development.Building an integrated wet-lab + computational engineering platform — biologics reformatting, multispecific assembly, screening & library design (high-diversity libraries, focused-library maturation, ML training-data campaigns), and computational design.The ideal candidate will thrive in a dynamic, hands-on environment and play a critical role in delivering life-changing therapeutics.ResponsibilitiesLead antibody engineering with a strong emphasis on late-stage design and optimization to refine and advance lead candidates toward development. Core activities:Reformat biologics across modalities (scFv, scFv-Fc, minibodies, Fab, VHH, Fc fusions, albumin fusions, TCRm) and assemble multispecifics (knob-in-hole, CrossMab, DVD-Ig, common LC, DARTs)Fc engineering — mutations for half-life, effector-function modulation, isotype selection, and bispecific heterodimerizationAffinity maturation — design focused libraries to improve affinity, kinetics, and specificityPolishing & developability — remove chemical liabilities, mitigate aggregation and immunogenicity, humanize when neededScreening & library construction — design and execute campaigns (alanine scanning, high-diversity libraries via PCR, Gibson, mutagenesis, oligo-pool synthesis); generate ML training-data campaigns; translate manual workflows to automationComputational design — apply structural tools (PyMOL, Schrödinger BioLuminate / Maestro) and partner with Data Science / AI/ML on protein language and structure models (AlphaFold, ESM, RFdiffusion, ProteinMPNN, or equivalent)QualificationsPh.D. in Biochemistry, Bioengineering, Molecular Biology, Protein Engineering, or related field with equivalent industry experience: Sr. Scientist (PhD + 3-5 yrs); Principal Scientist (PhD + 5+ yrs)Hands-on biologics reformatting across scFv, scFv-Fc, Fab, Fc fusions, VHH, and Fc engineeringDemonstrated experience optimizing / engineering antibody lead candidates (affinity, developability, and Fc properties)ands-on experience with biologics screening using iQue and MACSQuantor high content imaging (HCI).Computational fluency: PyMOL, Schrödinger (BioLuminate / Maestro), molecular dynamics, or equivalent, and at least one protein language model (ESM, RFdiffusion, ProteinMPNN, or equivalent)Strong molecular cloning, mutagenesis, and DNA library constructionMentorship of junior researchers; clear scientific communication; track record of publications, presentations, or patentsExperience managing external vendors (CROs / CDMOs) for biologics production and characterizationThrive in cross-functional collaborationBonus ExperienceStrong background in antibody discovery pipelines: expression, purification, screening, and analytical characterization.Experience continuous directed evolution (OrthoRep, PACE): high-diversity libraries...