Wet Lab Protein Engineer

Worker Type

Job Description

 

Biological systems excel at building durable materials capable of withstanding environmental stress. Our biomaterials research translates these natural processes into scalable, high-performance industrial solutions.

We are hiring a Scientist or Engineer to advance key protein and strain engineering initiatives in support of the Biomaterials Branch within the Foundational Technologies Directorate at the Air Force Research Laboratory. The successful candidate will conduct basic and applied research to discover, optimize, and scale enzymes for varied environments, utilizing model and non-model organisms. Key responsibilities include applying modern genetic manipulation techniques and high-throughput screening to isolate candidate proteins and develop host strains. As part of an integrated, cross-functional team, you will collaborate with computational and experimental scientists to engineer biomolecules for the biomanufacturing of precursors, ceramic materials, and other advanced materials.

Key Responsibilities

A successful candidate will have experience in several of the areas below, with knowledge of how-to best interface with experts in areas they are less proficient in. Teaming and collaboration are critical for the role.

Protein & Enzyme Engineering

• Enzyme Prospecting & Optimization: Rational design, directed evolution, and semi-rational mutagenesis to tailor enzymatic activity and stability under diverse environmental conditions (e.g., pH, temperature, non-aqueous solvents).

• Structure-Function Characterization: Biochemical assay development, enzyme kinetics, and protein characterization to validate target functionality.

• Structure-Based Design: Familiarity with computational tools (e.g., AlphaFold, Rosetta) to guide engineering efforts for novel enzymatic pathways.

Strain Engineering & Synthetic Biology

• Genetic Tool Development: Designing and executing molecular biology protocols including plasmid construction, cloning (Gibson, Golden Gate, Gateway, etc) recombinant expression, CRISPR/gene editing, nucleic acid (DNA/RNA) extraction, and target manipulation, as needed.

• Metabolic Pathway Engineering: Designing and tuning metabolic pathways to biosynthesize precursor molecules, complex hydrocarbons, and material monomers.

• High-Throughput Screening (HTS): Designing microplate-based assays, microfluidic workflows, or FACS-based screens to rapidly profile host and enzyme performance.

Bioprocess Development & Material Precursors

• Biomanufacturing Optimization: Fermentation, scale-up principles, and cultivation strategies tailored to diverse target host systems.

Interdisciplinary & Technical Collaboration

• Bioinformatics & Data Integration: Collaborating with computational scientists to leverage omics data, predictive modeling, and sequence-function relationships.

• Cross-Functional Execution: Translating bench-level discoveries into applied biomanufacturing workflows within a multidisciplinary laboratory environment.

Required Qualifications

• U.S. Citizenship is required due to government facility access requirements.

• Education: Ph.D. in Chemistry, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Bioengineering Biophysics, or a related field with 1-2 years of experience. (Candidates with an M.S. and 4+ years of high-throughput engineering will be considered).

• Technical Experience:

  • Protein Engineering: Design, optimize, and characterize proteins and biologics using state-of-the-art molecular biology and high-throughput screening techniques. Collaborate cross-functionally to translate engineered proteins into robust, scalable solutions for real-world applications. Demonstrated proficiency in core molecular biology techniques (plasmid construction/cloning, nucleic acid isolation, PCR/qPCR, etc).

  • Proved proficiency in protein expression and purification.

  • Strong quantitative analysis and experimental troubleshooting capabilities.

Preferred Qualifications

Candidates may not possess all of these qualifications; it is expected that they will have experience in some, but not necessarily all, of the listed areas.

• Automation/High-Throughput Screening: Experience with high-throughput liquid handling robots or automated screening workflows. Demonstrated experience developing and running robustselection/screening assays (e.g., yeast/phage display, plate-based fluorescence, or cell-freetranslation systems).

• Bio-Interfacial Modeling: Knowledge of how proteins behave when tethered to solid surfaces (e.g.,resin or silica).

• Library Generation: Hands-on expertise in library construction (e.g., Golden Gate cloning, Gibson Assembly, site-saturation mutagenesis, error-prone PCR).

• Protein Purification: Familiarity with affinity tag based recombinant protein purification using an FPLC.

• Mentorship: Demonstrated ability to mentor junior laboratory members and manage multiple concurrent projects.

• Fermentation Knowledge: Familiarity with bioreactor operation modes during scale-up.

ITAR Requirement:

This position requires access to information that is subject to compliance with the International Traffic Arms Regulations (“ITAR”) and/or the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”). In order to comply with the requirements of the ITAR and/or the EAR, applicants will be asked to provide specific documentation to verify U.S. person status under the ITAR and the EAR.  A “U.S. person” according to their definition is a U.S. citizen, U.S. lawful permanent resident (green card holder), or protected individual such as a refugee, or asylee. See 22 CFR § 120.15. Some positions will require current U.S. Citizenship due to contract requirements.

Benefits:  AV offers an excellent benefits package including medical, dental vision, 401K with company matching, a 9/80 work schedule and a paid holiday shutdown.  For more information about our company benefit offerings please visit:  http://www.avinc.com/myavbenefits.

We also encourage you to review our company website at http://www.avinc.com to learn more about us.

Principals only need apply.  NO agencies please.

Who We Are

Based in California, AeroVironment (AVAV) is a global leader in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and tactical missile systems. Founded in 1971 by celebrated physicist and engineer, Dr. Paul MacCready, we’ve been at the leading edge of technical innovation for more than 45 years. Be a part of the team that developed the world’s most widely used military drones and created the first submarine-launched reconnaissance drone, and has seven innovative vehicles that are part of the Smithsonian Institution’s permanent collection in Washington, DC.

Join us today in developing the next generation of small UAS and tactical missile systems that will deliver more actionable intelligence to our customers so they can proceed with certainty – and succeed.

What We Do

Building on a history of technological innovation, AeroVironment designs, develops, produces, and supports an advanced portfolio of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and tactical missile systems.  Agencies of the U.S. Department of Defense and allied military services use the company’s hand-launched UAS to provide situational awareness to tactical operating units through real-time, airborne reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition.

We are proud to be an EEO/AA Equal Opportunity Employer, including disability/veterans. AeroVironment, Inc. is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer and welcomes all qualified applicants. Qualified applicants will receive fair and impartial consideration without regard to race, sex, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, genetic data, sexual orientation, gender identity or other legally protected status.

ITAR