Team Lead: Assay Biologist

Designation: Assay Biologist

Job Location: Bangalore

Department: Discovery Biology

About Syngene:  Syngene (www.syngeneintl.com) is an innovation-led contract research, development and manufacturing organization offering integrated scientific services from early discovery to commercial supply.

At Syngene, safety is at the heart of everything we do personally and professionally. Syngene has placed safety at par with business performance with shared responsibility and accountability, including following safety guidelines, procedures and SOPs, in letter and spirit

Mandatory expectation for all roles as per Syngene safety guidelines

• Overall adherence to safe practices and procedures of oneself and the teams aligned
• Contributing to development of procedures, practices and systems that ensures safe operations and compliance to company’s integrity & quality standards
• Driving a corporate culture that promotes environment, health, and safety (EHS) mindset and operational discipline at the workplace at all times.
• Ensuring safety of self, teams and lab/plant by adhering to safety protocols and following environment, health, and safety (EHS) requirements at all times in the workplace.
• Ensure all assigned mandatory trainings related to data integrity, health, and safety measures are completed on time by all members of the team including self
• Compliance to Syngene’ s quality standards at all times
• Hold self and their teams accountable for the achievement of safety goals
• Govern and Review safety metrics from time to time

Job Purpose

Looking for a highly innovative, enthusiastic, and result-oriented individual who will lead a team of scientists, interfacing with the clients for their research and business needs and managing the activities of the Assay Development Group complying with the company quality and regulatory standards. The candidate will be involved in guiding the team for the development and qualification of different types of cell-free biochemical and biophysical assays as part of the integrated and standalone projects.

Key Responsibilities:

• Scientifically contributing and leading the client FTE projects on cell free assays, regular updates, and communications to internal and external customers on the progress of the project
• Manage a team of Scientists- Masters [includes goal setting, understanding developmental needs, assigning responsibilities in the laboratory activities, critically assessing their performance, and providing timely feedback]
• Scientific execution of work, developing new assays, troubleshooting the assays, data analysis and presentations
• Active participation in the strategic drives- Data Integrity and Safety; Compound management & automation based on experience
• Writing and Review of electronic laboratory notebooks, rawdata and study report to ensure data integrity for himself/herself and for reporting team.
• Review reports and protocol of method development, qualification, and other studies 
• Responsible for detailed planning of sample analysis and execution of protocol based studies.
• Technical data presentation in departmental and functional meetings.
• Maintains compliance with all company policies and procedures.
• Ability to build a small team and manage the daily activities of the assay group managing biochemical assays for drug discovery projects
• Possess the knowledge and exposure to environment, health, and safety (EHS) practices
• Follow environment, health, and safety (EHS) requirements at all times in the workplace ensuring individual and lab/plant safety
• Ensure environment, health, and safety (EHS) measures are imparted via training and adhered within the team.

Educational Qualification:  Ph.D or Masters Biological sciences or related field

Technical/functional Skills:

• Strong technical expertise in developing biochemical and cell-based assays, activity/ binding assays in multiple assay formats e.g. HTRF, FP, TR-FRET, AlphaLISA, Luminescence, HiBiT, qPCR and/or other label-free technologies etc.
• Experience in conducting MoA determination assays of small molecule – enzyme inhibition, protein-protein interaction inhibitors, ternary complexes etc.
• Cell-free of cell-based assay expertise for establishing (development and validation) high throughput screening in 96-well, 384-well  and 1536-well format
• Experience and good track record for screening of compounds in primary and secondary assays driving SAR for discovery projects
• Knowledge of QC parameters for compound screening in biochemical assays for various target classes
• In depth knowledge of handling multi-mode readers, Liquid handlers and automation
• Analyze and present data using excel, powerpoint and statistical tools (Graph Pad Prism, Excel-fit)
• Interacts with other members of the department in developing innovative technologies and assay platform.
• Knowledge in regulatory guidelines related to biosafety, and statistical data analysis.

Behavioral Skills:

• Ability to manage a team of professionals to deliver quality work within the time frame, train and coach junior scientists, inculcate good work ethics.
• Ability to work with co‐workers and outside agencies professionally and tactfully.
• Excellent verbal/written communication and ability to communicate effectively with high transparency is essential.
• Interpersonal skills with an emphasis on working in a team environment to accomplish impactful results.

Equal Opportunity Employer:

It is the policy of Syngene to provide equal employment opportunity (EEO) to all persons regardless of age, color, national origin, citizenship status, physical or mental disability, race, religion, creed, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, genetic information, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable legislation or local law. In addition, Syngene will provide reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities.