Scientist, Platform RNA Sciences

About Sail

Sail Biomedicines is pioneering the integrative design and deployment of fully programmable medicines to transform patient care. Sail’s platform combines first-in-class programmable circular RNA technology (Endless RNA™ or eRNA), and an industry-leading platform of programmable nanoparticles, utilizing natural components, to unlock comprehensive programming of medicines for the first time. By leveraging cutting-edge eRNA and nanoparticle deployment technology, Sail is also making unparalleled use of AI techniques to identify and design fully programmable medicines that are potent, targeted, versatile, and tunable. Sail was founded by Flagship Pioneering. 

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

Salary Range: $98,000 - $125,000

Sail Biomedicines is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Sail does not discriminate based on race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, national origin, veteran status, or any other status protected under federal, state, or local law.