Junior Scientist II-Crystallography

At ICON, it’s our people that set us apart. Our diverse teams enable us to become a better partner to our customers and help us to fulfil our mission to advance and improve patients’ lives.

Our ‘Own It’ culture is driven by four key values that bring us together as individuals and set us apart as an organisation: Accountability & Delivery, Collaboration, Partnership and Integrity. We want to be the Clinical Research Organisation that delivers excellence to our clients and to patients at every touch-point. In short, to be the partner of choice in drug development.

That’s our vision. We’re driven by it. And we need talented people who share it.
If you’re as driven as we are, join us. You’ll be working in a dynamic and supportive environment, with some of the brightest and the friendliest people in the sector, and you’ll be helping shape an industry.
 

The Role: 

We are seeking a Junior Scientist II to join a diverse and growing team at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) Wound Infection Department (WID). WID is tasked with delivering specific, effective countermeasures for infection of combat wounds pre-injury, at the point-of-injury, and post-injury. The Structural Biology (XTAL) group focuses on structure-based drug designs for microbial pathogens of military relevance. Researchers in this group express, purify, and crystallize ESKAPEE pathogen proteins of interest and utilize sophisticated techniques such as X-ray Crystallography and Mass Spectroscopy to model small molecule drug-protein interactions. 

What you will be doing 

• Design, develop, and deliver novel small molecule antibiotics against MDR organisms of military relevance through structure-based drug design. 
• Identify novel small-molecule drug candidates through in silico screening of commercially available chemical databases and molecular modeling of drug candidates for enhancement. 
• Express, purify, and crystallize proteins for structure-based drug design and perform mass spectrometry on all products. 
• Develop and recommend antimicrobial drug candidates for specific targets on MDR ESKAPEE pathogens (Enterococcus species, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterobacter cloacae, and Escherichia coli). 
• Draft grant proposals on structure-based drug design for submission to leadership and research steering committees. 
• Conduct research on projects associated with antimicrobial development such as protein expression and purification, MIC (minimum inhibitory concentration) studies, animal modeling, virtual modeling of drugs bound to target proteins, etc. 
• Independently design experiments, make detailed observations, analyze data, interpret results, and deliver timely results. 

• Mentor and supervise junior scientists within the team as needed. 

Your profile 

• U.S. Citizenship required. 
• Clearance: NACI
• Must have a Ph.D. in an appropriate discipline (e.g., microbiology, immunology, Molecular Biology, or biochemistry). 
• Minimum of 3-5 years of experience in protein characterization and chemistry. 
• Within the last year Xray Crystallography Experience
• Proficiency and training in the operation of BRUKER X-Ray Diffractometers required
• Experience in at least one of the following areas: druggable target identification, cloning, enzymology, protein characterization, and protein chemistry. 
• Strong computer skills and experience with relevant software, including MS Office and GraphPad Prism. 
• Experience with microbiology of Gram-negative species and antibacterial development is desired. 
• Demonstrated success in obtaining competitive grant funding, either individually or as a lead contributing member of a grant-winning team.
• Excellent presentation and oral and written communication skills. 
• Ability to prioritize and work in a fast-paced and diverse environment. Contribute individually as well as part of a highly collaborative and productive team. 
• Proven ability to prepare precise technical summaries and protocols and maintain appropriate documentation. 

Additional Information: 

• Onsite at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (Silver Spring, MD) 

Benefits of Working in ICON:
Our success depends on the quality of our people. That’s why we’ve made it a priority to build a culture that rewards high performance and nurtures talent.

We offer very competitive salary packages. And to keep them competitive, we regularly benchmark them against our competitors. Our annual bonuses reflect delivery of performance goals – both ours and yours.
We also provide a range of health-related benefits to employees and the