WHY PATIENTS NEED YOU

Pfizer’s purpose is to deliver breakthroughs that change patients’ lives. Research and Development is at the heart of fulfilling Pfizer’s purpose as we work to translate advanced science and technologies into the therapies and vaccines that matter most. Whether you are in the discovery sciences, ensuring drug safety and efficacy or supporting clinical trials, you will apply cutting edge design and process development capabilities to accelerate and bring the best in class medicines to patients around the world.

ROLE SUMMARY

Pfizer’s Cell Line Development (CLD) organization is seeking a highly motivated and highly qualified postdoctoral fellow to develop technologies that enhance RNA-based modalities. The postdoctoral fellow will have the opportunity to perform platform technology development activities that are critical to advance Pfizer’s biotherapeutics pipeline toward clinical and commercial development. This role requires expertise in molecular biology/biochemistry with an emphasis on RNA biology/biochemistry, including in vitro transcription reactions. 

This postdoctoral fellowship will focus on generating a broader understanding of the biological impact of plasmid sequences (including transcriptional initiation and termination signals, messenger RNA (mRNA) regulatory elements, and plasmid backbone) on the production of high-quality therapeutic mRNA.  The work will establish a molecular tool box that can be manipulated to significantly improve mRNA production platforms, improve process robustness, reduce cost and timelines, and improve upon Pfizer’s leadership status in the mRNA space.

Additional skillsets in mammalian cell biology, including cell culture maintenance, transfection, flow cytometry, and cell line characterization are also desired. Finally, experience with systems biology, synthetic biology, bioinformatics, and/or automation technologies is desired. The successful candidate will help to design and drive innovative improvements to RNA technologies. 

ROLE RESPONSIBILITIES

• Be a key member of the CLD team that will support the execution of RNA technology development
• Demonstrate outstanding communication and presentation skills, a documented ability to troubleshoot technical issues, an ability to plan and carry out experiments independently, and to work with complex instrumentation and software.
• Effectively document all lab activities in notebooks/elsewhere as required and appropriate, in a timely fashion; author technical reports as needed and contribute to posters and publications as appropriate.
• Evaluate data and provide clear reports that can be shared and transferred to and from cross‐functional teams; responsible for clear communication in both written and oral forms.
• Adherence to safety protocols and knowledge of basic laboratory procedures to advance projects under rapidly shifting priorities and timelines.
• Publish findings in high impact peer-review journals

QUALIFICATIONS

Must-Have

• Requires Ph.D. in cell/molecular biology/biochemistry or related field with 0‐4 years’ experience.
• 1-2 first-author publications (published or manuscripts submitted for publication) in high-quality specialty or general readership journals.
• Extensive technical and scientific knowledge as well as practical experience to deliver high quality results to drive delivery of RNA technologies.
• Substantial experience with molecular biology/RNA biochemistry including:
• Plasmid construction, preparation, and analysis
• RNA transcription reactions, purification, stability, and analytics
• cDNA and genomic DNA preparation, sequencing (Sanger and Next Gen)
• DNA electrophoresis as well as Northern and Southern analyses

• Outstanding oral and written communications skills
• Strong analytical and computer skills are required
• Self-motivated individual who works well in a team setting

Nice to Have

Experience with mammalian cell culture techniques is highly desired

OTHER JOB DETAILS

• Must Have Work Authorization in US.
• Eligible for Relocation Assistance
• Work Location Assignment: On Premise