Shared Resources Specialist III- Antibody Technology

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center is an independent, nonprofit organization providing adult cancer treatment and groundbreaking research focused on cancer and infectious diseases. Based in Seattle, Fred Hutch is the only National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center in Washington.

With a track record of global leadership in bone marrow transplantation, HIV/AIDS prevention, immunotherapy and COVID-19 vaccines, Fred Hutch has earned a reputation as one of the world's leading cancer, infectious disease and biomedical research centers. Fred Hutch operates eight clinical care sites that provide medical oncology, infusion, radiation, proton therapy and related services, and network affiliations with hospitals in five states. Together, our fully integrated research and clinical care teams seek to discover new cures to the world's deadliest diseases and make life beyond cancer a reality.

At Fred Hutch we value collaboration, compassion, determination, excellence, innovation, integrity and respect. These values are grounded in and expressed through the principles of diversity, equity and inclusion. Our mission is directly tied to the humanity, dignity and inherent value of each employee, patient, community member and supporter. Our commitment to learning across our differences and similarities make us stronger. We seek employees who bring different and innovative ways of seeing the world and solving problems. Fred Hutch is in pursuit of becoming an anti-racist organization. We are committed to ensuring that all candidates hired share our commitment to diversity, anti-racism and inclusion.

The Shared Resources Specialist III works within the Antibody Technology Core (ATC) and is responsible for supporting and collaboratively enhancing the antibody development needs of researchers at Fred Hutch. This position requires expertise in molecular biology and protein science to expand antibody related services and a willingness to learn all parts of the antibody discovery process and participate in the active development of new services and research opportunities. This position assumes mastery of all Specialist II position requirements and duties.

At Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, all employees are expected to demonstrate a commitment to our values of collaboration, compassion, determination, excellence, innovation, integrity, and respect.

Primary/Essential Duties:

Research Support: Varied duties within process of monoclonal antibody discovery using mouse hybridoma technology. This includes:
• Generation of immunogens and screening reagents, including stable antigen expressing cell lines
• Murine B-cell isolation, hybridoma fusion and culture, flow cytometric screening of hybridoma cells and supernatants
• PCR amplification of antibody variable regions, Sanger and NGS sequencing of hybridomas and B cells
• Molecular cloning (Golden-gate, restriction, TOPO and In-fusion) into mammalian expression vectors
• Recombinant antibody expression ins transient and stable mammalian systems - HEK293 and CHO
• Affinity and size exclusion purification of antibodies
• Protein characterization such as size exclusion chromatography, kinetic ligand binding analysis, epitope binning and mapping
• Position may include basic animal handling as part of hybridoma antibody discovery process.
• Assisting or leading assay development or experimental design with customers
• Willingness to increase their skill set to accomplish these tasks
• Participate in collaborate research efforts amongst multiple shared resources
• Research development: This position will:
  • Provide a high level of support for users of the ATC by establishing and maintaining positive, collaborative working relationships with faculty and external users.
  • Contribute to the development of advanced screening protocols or creative solutions for delivering high quality products from the antibody discovery process.
  • Contribute to the advancement of antibody sequencing and production in the core.
• Equipment Oversight: This position will:
  • Be, or through training, become an expert on equipment within the antibody core such as Molecular Devices ClonePix2 colony picker, IntelliCyt iQue Screener flow cytometer, AKTA Pure, Carterra SPR instrument and robotics automation used in the antibody discovery process.
  • Serve as a resource for optimization of lab performance and efficiency.
  • Perform advanced equipment operation and maintenance or coordinate and complete maintenance on all equipment and software.
  • Participates in the review and identification of new equipment needs and also helps oversee supply management
• Training and Education: The candidate will:
  • Lead initiatives to develop new training materials, SOPs, and guidelines for optimizing investigator interactions with the antibody core.
  • Be expected to present on new or expanded technologies within the antibody core.
  • Mentor junior staff within the Shared Resource.
• Administrative tasks: Tasks include:
  • Completing batch records, updating liquid nitrogen logs and maintaining sample records.
  • Communicating with the researchers who use the core as well as fostering positive relationships with vendors and service engineers who support the antibody core.
  • Assisting with billing for service as required.
  • As appropriate, assist with Institutional Animal Care and use Committee protocol preparation.

SCOPE OF RESPONSIBILITY:

• Level of autonomy: A Specialist III- Antibody Technology will communicate issues/ needs of the facility to their manager(s) on an established schedule but will be expected to perform most work autonomously. This position has no responsibility for supervision of others but is expected to mentor junior staff. Resource Director contributes to oversight and mentoring of this position. There will regular interfacing with resource users including vendors.
• Financial responsibility: This role does not have direct financial responsibility but will assist/ lead billing and review of charge codes as required.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• PhD OR
• Master's degree and 3 years of relevant scientific experience OR
• Bachelor's degree and 5 years of relevant scientific experience OR
• Associate Degree and 8 years of relevant scientific experience OR
• GED/ High School Diploma 10 years of relevant scientific experience
• Field of Education: Immunology, biology, biochemistry

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Basic rodent handling and procedural skills including animal immunization and familiarity with IACUC protocol management
• Experience in single B cell sorting technology and sequencing
• Experience in high-throughput mammalian expression of antibodies
• Experience in antibody engineering - Fc engineering, multispecific antibody formats
• Experience with analytical size exclusion and hydrophobic interaction chromatography
• Experience with NGS antibody sequencing and analysis
• Demonstrated ability to learn and adapt to new systems and techniques.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal and organizational skills.
• Ability to work in a collaborative team-oriented, core-lab environment
• Experience with MS Office suite of applications (Outlook, Word, Excel, Sharepoint, Teams, One Drive, etc;
• Record keeping and database management
• Capable of undertaking work with minimal supervision and ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously.
• Can perform detailed research and review of technology through literature searches, outreach to experts in field and other informational sources

A statement describing your commitment and contributions toward greater diversity, equity, inclusion, and antiracism in your career or that will be made through your work at Fred Hutch is requested of all finalists.

The annual base salary range for this position is from $71,552 to $107,328, and pay offered will be based on experience and qualifications.

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center offers employees a comprehensive benefits package designed to enhance health, well-being, and financial security. Benefits include medical/vision, dental, flexible spending accounts, life, disability, retirement, family life support, employee assistance program, onsite health clinic, tuition reimbursement, paid vacation (12-22 days per year), paid sick leave (12-25 days per year), paid holidays (13 days per year), paid parental leave (up to 4 weeks), and partially paid sabbatical leave (up to 6 months).