Senior Scientist I (Computational Nucleic Acid Chemist focusing on protein interactions) at Abbott Laboratories

Senior Scientist – Nucleic Acid Chemist - Computational focus

Working at Abbott

At Abbott, you can do work that matters, grow, and learn, care for yourself and family, be your true self and live a full life. You’ll also have access to:

• Career development with an international company where you can grow the career you dream of .

• Free medical coverage for employees* via the Health Investment Plan (HIP) PPO

• An excellent retirement savings plan with high employer contribution

• Tuition reimbursement, the Freedom 2 Save student debt program and FreeU education benefit - an affordable and convenient path to getting a bachelor’s degree.

• A company recognized as a great place to work in dozens of countries around the world and named one of the most admired companies in the world by Fortune.

• A company that is recognized as one of the best big companies to work for as well as a best place to work for diversity, working mothers, female executives, and scientists.

The Opportunity

Abbott is currently looking for an Innovative Senior Scientist who can effectively implement research and development studies to provide a deeper understanding of the physico-structural attributes of both reagents and materials that are at the core of current molecular amplification technology offerings, to ultimately use this knowledge to drive improvements in nucleic acid sample preparation, amplification and detection modalities, ultimately driving the development of robust diagnostic tools.  Now is an exciting time to join! 

This position works out of our ID Division.  The opportunity is available at our location in San Diego, CA. Our diagnostic solutions are used in hospitals, laboratories and clinics around the globe. The crucial information derived from our tests, instruments and informatics systems are often the first step in patient care decision making for hundreds of health conditions from heart attacks to blood disorders to infectious diseases and cancers.

What You’ll Work On

• Support research and product development efforts by providing expertise in computational chemistry, with an emphasis on implementing computational methods to visualize and characterize structural compositions of complex nucleic acid sequences and nucleic acid:protein interactions 

• Develop and/or implement analytical, physico-chemical, biophysical and molecular methodologies to help analyze and characterize 1) complex sample matrices and reagent formulations,, and 2) optimize sample preparation, amplification and detection methods     

• Characterize nucleic acid/protein, nucleic acid/matrix and protein/matrix interactions 

• Manage projects by coordinating and prioritizing work streams, timelines and deliverables while driving project execution to meet corporate expectations 

• Resolve technical issues with methods and instrumentation 

• Work both independently and as part of a cross-functional team to analyze, interpret, report, provide conclusions and present experimental data internally 

• Provide high level analysis of experimental results 

Please provide a cover letter with your resume and explain your experience with the below requirements and preferred qualifications and how your experience aligns with those items listed. We are looking for someone with experience using computational methodologies and they need to have prior experience with nucleic acid protein interactions in a current or past role. This must be shown on your resume and explained on your cover letter.

Required Qualifications

• Ph.D. in chemistry, biological chemistry, biochemistry or a closely related field and two years of experience in this area of expertise.

• OR Master's Degree and 4 years' experience in this area of expertise.

• OR Bachelor's degree and 6 years' experience in this area of expertise.

Preferred Qualifications

• Eight or more years of experience working in the in vitro diagnostics field in an industrial setting and a PH.D. chemistry, biological chemistry, biochemistry or a closely related field.

• Subject matter expert in applying computational methodologies to deconvolute complex nucleic acid folding structures and characterizing nucleic acid: protein interactions

• Subject matter expert in analyzing and characterizing the Physico-chemical attributes of nucleic acid sample preparation, nucleic acid amplification and nucleic acid detection modalities  

• Proven track record of implementing chemical, physical, analytical and molecular methods for the characterization of nucleic acid amplification technologies 

• Extensive experience in analyzing structures of nucleic acids, using computational tools 

• Experience testing, analyzing and modifying nucleic acid/protein interactions 

• Track record of developing analytical methods for the characterization of nucleic acids 

• Demonstrated ability to work independently or as part of a team to achieve desired results from general objectives 

• Demonstrated ability to analyze, interpret, and present data are essential 

• Good communication skills, capable of communicating ideas to colleagues and management