Staff Scientist

About the team/job

We are Europe’s flagship research laboratory for the life sciences – an intergovernmental organisation performing scientific research in disciplines including molecular biology, physics, chemistry and computer science. We are an international, innovative and interdisciplinary laboratory with approx. 1 900 employees from many nations, operating across six sites, in Heidelberg (HQ), Barcelona, Hinxton near Cambridge, Hamburg, Grenoble and Rome.

EMBL is seeking to recruit a Staff Scientist in the Marquez team at the EMBL Grenoble unit. The Marquez Team operates the High Throughput Crystallization Laboratory (HTX Lab) and has a strong focus on technology and methods development in macromolecular crystallography (CrystalDirect™, CRIMS, Online Crystallography), particularly in the area of fragment screening and structure-based drug design. They work closely with the EMBL instrumentation team and apply these technologies to provide services to the wider scientific community and for their own research. The HTX lab integrates the operations team of the ESRF MASSIF1 beamline, where the CrystalDirect technology has been recently implemented. 

Your role

You will, lead and contribute to both research and technology development projects within the Marquez team with a focus on structure-based drug design. Your duties will include:

• Contribute to the management and operation of the HTX facility and their pipelines reporting directly to the Head of the HTX facility.
• Support and provide advice to internal and external users of the HTX Lab.
• Integrate the MASSIF 1 beamline operation team.
• contribute to manuscript preparation, grant writing and reporting, presentations of group activities at external meetings and training of young researchers.
• Contribute to both research and technology development projects within the Marquez team.

You will have the opportunity to develop your own projects in the field of structure-based drug design including both research on specific targets and or method and technology development. 

You have

• A PhD in a relevant field
• Ideally at least three years of postdoctoral experience with outstanding results (high impact publications, datasets …).
• Working experience and theoretical knowledge of all experimental steps of protein crystallography, from protein production to synchrotron data collection and crystallographic data analysis are essential.
• An interest in technology and method development.
• Project management capabilities, excellent communication skills and the ability to supervise and collaborate with other research teams. 

You might also have

Experience on structure-based drug design projects, synchrotron beamline operation, and technology or software development will be considered and advantage. 

Why join us

Do something meaningful

At EMBL you can apply your talent and passion to accelerate science and tackle some of humankind's greatest challenges. EMBL conducts world-class excellent biological research, provides advanced training for students and scientists, and provides state-of-the-art technologies for a wide range of scientific and experimental services.

Join a culture of innovation

This is a highly collaborative and inclusive community where our employees enjoy a relaxed atmosphere. We are committed to ensuring our employees feel valued, supported and empowered to reach their professional potential. We are located in Grenoble, a scientific hub in France and home to several internationally renowned research facilities. Grenoble is also a popular tourist destination due to its setting close to the French Alpes.

Enjoy lots of benefits

• Financial incentives: Monthly family, child and non-resident allowances, annual salary review, a pension scheme, death benefit, long-term care, accident-at-work and unemployment insurances
• Flexible working arrangements;
• Certified training and continued development of your professional and personal skills;
• Private medical insurance for you and your immediate family
• Generous time off: 30 days annual leave per year;
• Relocation package including installation grant (if required);
• Family benefits: 10 days of child sick leave, generous parental leave and monthly family and child allowances
• Benefits for non-French residents: Visa exemption, education grant for private schooling, financial support to travel back to your home country every second year and a monthly non-resident allowance.

What else you need to know

• The contract duration is of 3 years, renewable upon funding availability to a maximum of 9 years
• International applicants: We recruit internationally and successful candidates are offered visa exemptions
• The working language of the institute is English.
• Diversity and inclusion: At EMBL, we strongly believe that inclusive and diverse teams benefit from higher levels of innovation and creative thought, therefore we welcome all individuals to apply.
• Job location: This role is based in Grenoble, France. You will be required to relocate if you are based elsewhere and you will receive a generous relocation package to support you.
• How to apply: To apply, please submit a cover letter and a CV through our online system using the Apply button above.
• Tentative interview dates will be 3, 4 May 2023.