AddressJob title: Computational Biochemist
Location: PYC Therapeutics Perth, Western Australia
About PYC Therapeutics
PYC Therapeutics (ASX: PYC) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company creating a new generation of RNA therapies to change the lives of patients with genetic diseases. The Company utilises its proprietary drug delivery platform to enhance the potency of precision medicines within the rapidly growing and commercially proven RNA therapeutic class. PYC’s drug development programs target monogenic diseases – the indications with the highest likelihood of success in clinical development. The Company was the first to progress a drug candidate for a rare blinding eye disease of childhood into human trials in 2023 and is now progressing multiple ‘fast-follower’ programs into the clinic.
About The Role
Life-changing science is our focus, we start there and everything else follows.
We are seeking a Research Scientist with experience in Computational Biochemistry to assist our Platform Discovery team to support the development of our therapeutic programs.
The successful candidate will:
- Engage and collaborate with PYC scientists on experimental design, data analysis and interpretation, and develop a thorough understanding of peptide display technology.
- Collect, analyse and interpret data while working closely with internal stakeholders and SMEs to understand the underlying delivery challenge.
- Apply and adapt in-house pipelines for in silico modelling and evaluation of peptide libraries and their associated interactions.
We are recruiting for a full-time position based at our Nedlands location in Perth, Western Australia. Only candidates with ongoing unrestricted rights to work in Australia will be considered.
The Person:
You are always looking to learn and find new ideas and are not afraid to try something that might fail. You communicate with clarity, concisely and respectfully and you understand we succeed together. You keep yourself to the highest of standards but know how to be pragmatic in delivering outcomes… our patients can’t wait.
You have technical experience working in the field of Computational Biochemistry for at least two years. You are comfortable working in a team environment or individually to solve technical challenges. You have a strong grasp of Computational Biochemistry concepts, including molecular dynamics, and protein folding. We will highly value your diversity of experience and the alternative perspectives you will bring.
Selection criteria - Essential:
- PhD or equivalent experience in relevant discipline such as, chemistry, biochemistry, computational chemistry or similar.
- Proficient in usage of protein folding software such as RoseTTAFold, AlphaFold or similar.
- Experienced in building and evaluation of pipelines for assessment of protein docking.
- Experienced in the application of molecular dynamics, either coarse-grained or all-atom, in the context of peptides or proteins.
- Excellent computer, data analysis, written and oral communication skills.
- Excellent analytical and organisational skills, and ability to maintain accurate research records (cloud-based).
- Ability to work both independently and productively within a dynamic team environment.
- Self-motivated, with the capability to meticulously plan work in advance
- Commitment to high quality science through experimental planning, analysis and presentations.
Selection Criteria - Desirable:
- Ability to coordinate with stakeholders of various scientific backgrounds to drive a project to completion.
- Experienced in the usage of software platforms including but not limited to Google Cloud, Vertex AI, Python, R and GROMACS
- Experience with high-performance computing.
- Experience and knowledge of general peptide structure-activity relationships.
- Understanding of the current commercial landscape with regards to peptide and protein-folding software, molecular dynamics, protein docking.
- Experience working with oligonucleotides or similar modalities to modulate RNA expression.
- Consistent delivery on project objectives, with an understanding of how this contribution fits within the broader strategy and company objectives.
Applications MUST include:
- A statement addressing the selection criteria.
- The applicant’s curriculum vitae
- The contact details of two current referees.
