This is Cradle

Proteins are the molecular machines of life, used for many therapeutic, diagnostic, chemical, agricultural and food applications. Designing and optimizing proteins currently takes a lot of expert knowledge and manual effort, through the use of custom computational and biological tools. However over the past few years, machine learning has completely changed this story: we can now build high-fidelity models of proteins in computers.

At Cradle, we build these models. We offer a software platform for AI-guided lead optimization of proteins, so that biologists can design proteins faster and at scale. We’re already used by clients across pharma, biotech, agritech, foodtech, and academia.

We're an experienced team, now of just over 40 people. We've built many successful products before and have enough funding for multiple years of runway. Our technical roles are split between machine learning, our web platform, infrastructure & scaling, and wet lab.

We're focused on building the best possible team culture. We're distributed across two locations, and are flexible about when and where we work.

We offer our employees a top of the market salary, a generous equity stake in the company and a wide range of benefits from health and wellbeing, financial, to training and career progression opportunities.

Context

Our BioEngineering team leverages high-throughput, plate-based methods to generate critical validation data for our machine learning models. We also develop and characterize large libraries not only to build foundational models but also to maximize our learning from experimental data. Through our commitment to open science, we contribute to the broader bioengineering community by sharing our lab methods, tools, and developments.

We're now looking for a Senior Scientist, Antibodies to lead our internal and external antibody engineering initiatives. In this role, you'll establish and oversee our new mammalian cell laboratory, guide a small team in plate-based optimization and ultra-high-throughput screening, and play a pivotal role in shaping Cradle's antibody engineering strategy. You'll have the opportunity to make a lasting impact in this rapidly evolving field while working at the intersection of biological and computational innovation.

Your Impact

• Build and lead our internal antibody engineering initiatives, from conception to execution, taking an initial hands-on role to establish core workflows and capabilities

• Drive the establishment of our mammalian cell lab, focusing on large-scale libraries (e.g. panning, yeast-two-hybrid, FACS-based methods, Tite-Seq) and plate-based assays

• Oversee CROs and collaborators to rapidly acquire data for capabilities (currently) beyond the lab's infrastructure

• Nurture and develop our (lab) team's expertise through mentorship, technical guidance, and education

• Partner with our machine learning team to ensure generating the right experimental data to improve our ML models

• Bring the voice of antibody engineers into our platform development and shape Cradle's strategic direction in this field

Your Expertise

• PhD plus 3+ years of pharmaceutical industry experience showcasing your deep antibody engineering knowledge

• Expertise in expression, purification, screening, and characterisation of antibodies (full IgGs, scFvs, VHHs, etc) with in vitro and/or in vivo protein expression systems

• Hands-on experience with core characterization methods (SPR, BLI, DLS, ELISA) and/or plate-based functional assays

• Technical leadership experience showing your ability to both inspire others and provide hands-on guidance

• Natural ability to communicate complex concepts across disciplines

• The entrepreneurial drive to thrive in a fast-paced startup where you'll shape the future of protein engineering

We recognize that this is an extensive list of criteria, and not every candidate might tick every box. At Cradle, we embrace a culture of learning and growth, and we believe in developing talent. Do you miss some of the points indicated in this list? We still encourage you to apply!

Did we pique your interest? We'd love to hear from you. Please use this form to apply directly.