Vaccine Scientist

Company Description

Join us and make YOUR mark on the World!

Are you interested in joining some of the brightest talent in the world to strengthen the United States’ security? Come join Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) where our employees apply their expertise to create solutions for BIG ideas that make our world a better place.

We are committed to a diverse and equitable workforce with an inclusive culture that values and celebrates the diversity of our people, talents, ideas, experiences, and perspectives. This is essential to innovation and creativity for continued success of the Laboratory’s mission.

Pay Range

$148,650.00 - $190,932.00 Annually

Please note that the pay range information is a general guideline only. Many factors are taken into consideration when setting starting pay including education, experience, the external labor market, and internal equity.

Job Description

We are seeking a highly motivated Vaccine Staff Scientist with a strong background in developing and optimizing vaccines for infectious diseases to join our team. You will collaborate with computational biologists to design and evaluate vaccines and other biopharmaceuticals against emerging pathogens. If you are a self-motivated individual who thrives in a dynamic and fast-paced environment, and who is passionate about using display technologies to discover and optimize new proteins, we encourage you to apply. This position is in the Biosciences and Biotechnology Division.

You will:

• Collaborate with a diverse team of biochemists, computational biologists, engineers, and other members of the vaccine research team to develop novel vaccine strategies.
• Develop and perform evaluation of vaccine candidates via biochemical, cell-based, display based, and/or in vivo models.
• Optimize vaccines for infectious diseases, including selection of appropriate antigens, delivery platforms, adjuvants, and administration strategies.
• Interact with external collaborators and/or contract research organizations to explore and/or execute commercial complementation toward program goals.
• Contribute to and actively participate in the development of integrated research programs to meet sponsor needs in multiple national security focus areas. Interact with senior project staff and management to influence programmatic decisions.
• Develop new and innovative research approaches relevant to the needs of Laboratory programs and/or external sponsors; write proposals, secure funding, and establish independent research projects.
• Prepare reports, manuscripts, and presentations to communicate scientific findings to both internal and external stakeholders.
• Perform other duties as needed.

Qualifications

• PhD in immunology, microbiology, bioengineering, biochemistry or a related field or equivalent combination of education and relevant experience
• Significant experience in vaccine design, including developing assays to assess vaccine immunogenicity and efficacy.
• Ability to work collaboratively with researchers from diverse fields, including computational and experimental biologists, and provide scientific guidance, support, and leadership as needed.
• Advanced written, verbal, and interpersonal skills necessary to deliver presentations, prepare written reports and to interact with a diverse group of scientists, engineers, and other technical and administrative staff.
• Demonstrated experience in one or more of the preferred qualifications below.

Qualifications we desire:

• Experience in developing or optimizing vaccine platforms for infectious diseases, especially protein nanoparticles, lipid nanoparticles, mRNA, viral vectors, and other advanced delivery platforms.
• Expertise in deep sequencing and analysis of immune repertoires, including experimental and/or bioinformatic methods.
• Experience with HT display platforms (e.g., mammalian, yeast, phage, etc.) and library design
• Expertise in structural biology, including structural determination of proteins and/or modeling protein structures and interactions.
• Experience with antibody and/or small molecule drug discovery, developability, and validation.

Additional Information

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

Position Information

This is a Flexible Term appointment, which is for a definite period not to exceed six years. If final candidate is a Career Indefinite employee, Career Indefinite status may be maintained (should funding allow).

Why Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory?

• Flexible Benefits Package
• 401(k)
• Relocation Assistance
• Education Reimbursement Program
• Flexible schedules (*depending on project needs)
• Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accountability (IDEA) - visit https://www.llnl.gov/diversity
• Our core beliefs - visit https://www.llnl.gov/diversity/our-values
• Employee engagement - visit https://www.llnl.gov/diversity/employee-engagement

Security Clearance

None required. However, if your assignment is longer than 179 days cumulatively within a calendar year, you must go through the Personal Identity Verification process. This process includes completing an online background investigation form and receiving approval of the background check. (This process does not apply to foreign nationals.)

Pre-Employment Drug Test

External applicant(s) selected for this position must pass a post-offer, pre-employment drug test. This includes testing for use of marijuana as Federal Law applies to us as a Federal Contractor.

Pre-Placement Medical Exam

A job related pre-placement medical examination may be required.

Beware of Fraudulent Job Postings. LLNL’s hiring practices:

• Never requires job applicants to pay an application/training fee or submit personal documents like bank account details, passport number, Social Security number, tax forms or credit card information as part of the application process.
• For interviews and to be granted access to a Federal facility, a LLNL employee will contact you directly to collect visa, passport number, and/or Social Security number. To vet the authenticity of the employee please have them provide you their name and phone number and verify at people.llnl.gov.
• Involves at least one interview (virtual or in-person) and never interviews job applicants through chat platforms such as Google Hangouts, or via correspondence through text and instant messaging systems.
• Only sends email communications to job applicants from domain “@llnl.gov” or via their applicant tracking system, notifications@smartrecruiters.com . Occasionally LLNL uses third-party vendors that will contact you about job opportunities. If a recruiter contacts you to apply, you will always be directed to our career page to apply through our career site.
• Encourages all applicants to visit LLNL’s careers page at www.llnl.gov/join-our-team/careers if they saw the job posting on another site prior to applying to ensure the job posting is accurate and valid.

Equal Employment Opportunity

We are an equal opportunity employer that is committed to providing all with a work environment free of discrimination and harassment. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, marital status, national origin, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, medical condition, pregnancy, protected veteran status, age, citizenship, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws.

We invite you to review the Equal Employment Opportunity posters which include EEO is the Law and Pay Transparency Nondiscrimination Provision.

Reasonable Accommodation

Our goal is to create an accessible and inclusive experience for all candidates applying and interviewing at the Laboratory. If you need a reasonable accommodation during the application or the recruiting process, please use our online form to submit a request.

California Privacy Notice

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) grants privacy rights to all California residents. The law also entitles job applicants, employees, and non-employee workers to be notified of what personal information LLNL collects and for what purpose. The Employee Privacy Notice can be accessed here.