Senior Cell Biologist/Tissue Bioengineer

Draper is an independent, nonprofit research and development company headquartered in Cambridge, MA. The 2,000+ employees of Draper tackle important national challenges with a promise of delivering successful and usable solutions. From military defense and space exploration to biomedical engineering, lives often depend on the solutions we provide. Our multidisciplinary teams of engineers and scientists work in a collaborative environment that inspires the cross-fertilization of ideas necessary for true innovation. For more information about Draper, visit www.draper.com.

Our work is very important to us, but so is our life outside of work. Draper supports many programs to improve work-life balance including workplace flexibility, employee clubs ranging from photography to yoga, health and finance workshops, off site social events and discounts to local museums and cultural activities. If this specific job opportunity and the chance to work at a nationally renowned R&D innovation company appeals to you, apply now www.draper.com/careers.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Draper is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer.   We understand the value of diversity and its impact on a high-performance culture.  All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, or genetic information.   

Draper is committed to providing access, equal opportunity and reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities in employment, its services, programs, and activities. To request reasonable accommodation, please contact hr@draper.com.

The Bioengineering Division is seeking an experienced Senior Scientist to support the research and development of cutting-edge technologies. At Draper Bioengineering, we work at the interface between engineering and biology, and the successful applicant will join teams working on microphysiologic systems (organ-on-chip), along with other capabilities in development. The successful candidate will be enthusiastic, observant, collaborative, and dedicated, and will serve as a subject matter expert, applying their foundational immunology knowledge and experience to exciting, interdisciplinary efforts.

Draper offers a distinctive atmosphere that blends the best aspects from academia, government, and industry and that fosters innovation, a supportive team environment, intellectual freedom and creativity, and an emphasis on career development. The available position offers the potential for career growth and opportunities to take on more responsibilities over-time. 

Key Responsibilities:

• Serve as an cell biologist and/or tissue bioengineer subject matter expert (emphasis on lung, liver, gastrointestinal, neural, and/or lymphoid tissue biology) for interdisciplinary teams including biologists, engineers, chemists, bioinformaticians, etc.
• Plan and execute hands-on experiments in a BSL-2 lab with Draper’s novel in vitro platform technologies (microphysiological system or organs-on-chip); train and supervise junior staff.
• Lead mammalian cell and tissue culture and assay development; assist in troubleshooting experimental work in coordination with colleagues as needed.
• Analyze, report, and present experimental data to internal management, external customers, and/or for publication.
• Work across a broad spectrum of engineering and biological applications to solve our customers’ most challenging needs including biodefense/biosecurity and medical countermeasure development applications.
• Multitask within a dynamic and diverse project environment and adapt to changing priorities.
• Support lab organization and maintenance as needed.

• PhD in biomedical engineering, cell biology, stem cell biology, immunology or related field, with demonstrated understanding of human cell and tissue biology and advanced in vitro cell culture platforms.
• Expertise in primary mammalian cell and tissue culture (human or animal), including complex multi-cell type co-culture, 3D cell culture/organoid biology, and/or stem cell culture.
• Experience engineering tissue with resident immune cell populations, i.e. immune-competent tissue models.
• Experience with primary-derived cell culture differentiation methodologies; phenotypic and functional characterization of tissue-specific and/or immunological cells; identification and/or understanding of key biomarkers for core tissue cell populations, and/or tissue-resident or blood-derived immune cell populations.
• Expertise applying fundamental biology knowledge to novel in vitro cell culture systems such as microphysiological systems or organs-on-chip.
• Experience with standard cell and molecular biological assays such as ELISA/Luminex, nucleic acid extraction, qPCR, immunofluorescence staining and confocal microscopy, cell proliferation/viability assays, cytotoxicity assays, flow cytometry / FACS, magnetic cell sorting.
• Ability to solve complex problems with minimal supervision, adapt to changing priorities, interface with all levels of internal management, as well as program sponsors and subcontractors
• Self-starter with excellent written and oral communication skills, laboratory organizational skills, and attention to detail

Preferrable skills and experience:

• Tissue engineering experience, specifically pulmonary, liver, gastrointestinal, neural and/or lymphoid tissues.
• Experience with microfluidic devices, microphysiological systems, and/or organs-on-chip technologies.
• Microbiology experience, such as in vitro or in vivo experience with BSL2 or BSL3 viruses, bacteria, or toxins; experience studying host-pathogen interactions; experience studying or modeling
• Expertise in molecular biology, mucosal immunology, multi-omics, bioinformatics and data analytics, biostatistical analyses, stem cell and iPSC biology, and/or laboratory automation.
• Experience isolating and characterizing cells such as epithelial, endothelial, and/or immunological (B cells, T cells, monocytes).
• Prior experience in the biotechnology industry, a plus.
• Some experience writing innovative R&D proposals for government sponsors (contacts, grants) or commercial sponsors and/or generating intellectual property.
• Interest in helping to support business development efforts through ideation, proposal writing, and customer outreach, including strategic interfaces with biotech and academic groups.

Candidate must be a US citizen.  Candidate will be expected to obtain and maintain a US Security Clearance.

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