Job Title: Senior Scientist – Protein Design & Enzymatic Assays
Company: Scarlet Therapeutics
Location: Science Creates Old Market, Midland Road, Bristol
Application closing date: 10th Janurary 2026
Start date: Flexible, H1 2026
Salary: Flexible, (depending on experience)
Job Description:
We are seeking a highly skilled Senior Scientist with a PhD to lead protein design, enzymatic assay development, and protein expression activities. The successful candidate will bring strong expertise in designing and optimising proteins, establishing robust enzymatic assays, and expressing proteins in mammalian cell systems. Experience with lentiviral vectors and cell line engineering—ideally in red blood cells or erythroid systems—is highly desirable.
Key Responsibilities:
* Design and optimise proteins for expression, stability, and enzymatic activity
* Develop, validate, and optimise enzymatic assays to assess protein function and kinetics
* Express recombinant proteins in mammalian cell lines, with a preference for red blood cell or erythroid lineage systems
* Design, produce, and optimise lentiviral expression vectors
* Drive strategies to increase protein expression and functionality through construct and vector optimisation
* Perform detailed data analysis, interpretation, and documentation of experimental results
* Independently design and execute experiments, including troubleshooting and method development
* Collaborate with cross-functional teams to support research and development objectives
Key Qualifications:
* PhD in Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Structural Biology, Protein Engineering, or a related field
* Minimum of 3 years experience in mammalian cell culture and enzymatic assay design
* Strong experience in protein design and optimisation (e.g. sequence engineering, domain optimisation, stability improvements)
* Demonstrated expertise in developing and running enzymatic assays
* Experience with enzyme kinetics, assay scaling, and high-quality data generation
* Hands-on experience with mammalian cell culture and protein expression
* Experience with lentiviral vectors or other gene delivery systems
* Excellent experimental design, analytical, and problem-solving skills
Preferred Qualifications:
* Experience working with red blood cells or erythroid progenitor systems
* Background in protein engineering, gene therapy, or synthetic biology
* Familiarity with enzyme kinetics, assay scaling, and high-quality data generation
About Scarlet Therapeutics:
Scarlet Therapeutics is a biotechnology company developing transformative therapies. Building on more than a decade of world-renowned research in Bristol, UK, the team at Scarlet is pioneering unique technology to harness the potential of blood as medicine, positioning the company to become the global leader in the field of therapeutic red blood cells.
We offer a fantastic working environment that is part of Science Creates, a Bristol-based deep tech ecosystem, combining specialist incubator facilities, a network of strategic partners and a dedicated venture capital fund.
Scarlet Therapeutics is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment. We believe in the power of diverse perspectives to drive our innovation and progress. To qualify for this position, you will need to be authorized to live and work in the UK.
In your application, please send a CV and a covering letter stating your motivations and what you think you could bring to the role to leanne.parks@scarlet-tx.com.