Senior Scientist - Antibodies

Nuclera is a venture-backed biotech company headquartered in Cambridge, UK with significant operations in Boston, USA. Nuclera’s mission is to accelerate discovery by enabling rapid, easy access to functional proteins essential for drug discovery research. Our eProtein Discovery benchtop system accelerates protein expression and purification optimization in research labs.

This is a lab-based role within Nuclera’s Protein Science group, central to new application development for integration into our eProtein Discovery platform. The successful candidate will work closely with cross-functional teams to design, express, purify, and characterize antibodies and antibody fragments for integration into our eProtein Discovery.

This position suits someone with excellent communication and organizational skills, a strong track record of execution and teamwork, and a drive to work in a fast-paced biotech environment.

About the role:

• Design experiments for expression, characterisation and troubleshooting of antibody and antibody fragments expression in mammalian and/or prokaryotic systems.
• Design and development of large panels of monoclonal antibody (mAb) variants for qualification studies, including investigating off-target specificity, avidity effects, bispecific and trispecific mAbs, and other relevant functional or structural characteristics.
• Optimise expression and characterization methods to make them compatible with Nuclera\’s proprietary technologies, including binding and biophysical assays.
• Actively contribute to discussions within and across teams to accelerate antibody discovery and optimization workflows.
• Work on multiple projects in parallel, maintaining high-quality standards and strict timelines.
• Develop and follow SOPs to independently execute experiments and analyze results.
• Report findings in a timely manner, maintain accurate documentation, and ensure compliance with good laboratory practices.

Essential

• MSc or PhD in Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Biotechnology, or a related field.
• 5 years of relevant industry experience for MSc graduates, or ≥3 years for PhD holders.
• Proven track record of antibody expression, purification, and characterization.
• Extensive first-hand experience in conducting primary screening experiments and developing down-selection strategies for secondary screening cohorts, including defining methods, optimizing approaches, and ensuring robust experimental design.
• Hands-on experience with mammalian expression systems (e.g., HEK293, CHO) and/or bacterial systems for antibody fragments.
• Solid understanding of antibody structure and engineering principles, including variable region diversity and Fc modifications.
• Experience with affinity purification techniques (e.g., Protein A/G/L, His-tag, Strep-tag).
• Proficiency in biophysical and binding assays (e.g., ELISA, BLI, SPR, Octet).
• Strong molecular biology skills, including PCR, cloning, and expression construct design.
• Ability to deliver high-quality results within tight timelines, working collaboratively in a team-driven environment.
• Excellent problem-solving, communication, and presentation skills

Desirable

• Hands-on knowledge of phage or yeast display for antibody discovery and optimization.
• Experience with hybridoma generation or B-cell cloning technologies.
• Familiarity with developability assessments (e.g., solubility, aggregation, stability).
• Understanding of cell-free protein synthesis platforms for antibody production.
• Exposure to structural characterization techniques (e.g., SEC-MALS, DLS, cryo-EM, crystallography).
• Experience with next-generation sequencing (NGS) for antibody repertoire analysis.

What we offer:

• In addition to competitive salaries, we offer a range of benefits including:
• Company bonus scheme of 5%
• Share option incentive scheme
• Life insurance
• Private medical insurance and cash plan
• 25 days\’ annual leave + Bank Holidays
• Enhanced employer\’s pension contributions
• Enhanced maternity and paternity Leave
• Investment in professional development and learning
• Fresh fruit, tea, coffee, and snacks in the office
• Organised summer events for staff