Scientist / Senior Scientist, Synthetic Virology for RNA Delivery
About the role
Hands-on RNA virologist role focused on engineering non-replicative VLP systems to package and deliver programmable RNA payloads in target pest insects. Involves design-build-test workflows, construct design, QC, and insect-cell delivery, within a small founding team at Molagri.
Responsibilities
- Build a design-build-test workflow for engineered VLPs, packageable RNA cargoes, replicase-compatible payloads, and non-replicative production systems.
- Design and clone viral particle constructs, RNA cargoes, reporter systems, and split-component packaging systems.
- Engineer capsids, packaging elements, and replicase/payload architectures that function together as programmable RNA delivery vehicles.
- Develop QC assays for particle assembly, VLP yield, RNA packaging, nuclease-protected cargo, RNA integrity, RNA amplification, and payload expression.
- Produce VLPs at small scale for biochemical characterization, insect-cell testing, and insect bioassays.
- Troubleshoot failures across construct expression, capsid assembly, cargo packaging, host RNA contamination, particle recovery, RNA amplification, payload expression, and insect-cell delivery.
Qualifications
- PhD in virology, RNA virus genetics, RNA biology, molecular biology, synthetic biology, or a related field.
- Hands-on experience engineering RNA viruses, replicons, VLPs, viral vectors, or viral capsids.
- Experience using viral reverse genetics, replicon engineering, VLP engineering, or viral vector engineering to study or reprogram viral replication, assembly, packaging, or delivery.
- Experience with large scale production and/or downstream processing of viruses, VLPs, and viral vectors is a plus.
- Strong molecular biology skills, including construct design, cloning, sequence analysis, and troubleshooting of expression systems.
- Working knowledge of protein, RNA, and/or particle QC methods.
- Ability to reason through complex system failures (e.g., poor expression, RNA amplification issues, cargo degradation, host RNA packaging, empty particles).
- Rigorous experimental style and ability to turn ambiguous virology questions into controlled experiments.
- Excitement to work at the bench in a small founding team where the platform is still being invented.
Skills
About Molagri
Biopesticides that are safe for humans and bees.
Molagri develops safer, more effective pesticides for agriculture. We design biopesticides that hit a precise molecular target unique to pest insects, knocking out pests while sparing pollinators, beneficial insects, and the wider ecosystem. By modeling how pests are likely to evolve, we stay a step ahead of resistance, keeping our products effective against the pests of today and tomorrow. The higher efficacy and biobased production will also contribute to emissions reductions in both manufacturing and field use. Our founders are PhD lab mates from the University of Toronto who have worked together for six years and published in Nature Communications and Nature Microbiology.
More open roles at Molagri
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- Sr. Research Associate, Yeast Expression and VLP Production2w agoHybrid (Toronto, ON, CA) · Science, Biotechnology
- Scientist / Senior Scientist, Insect Biology and Bioassays2w agoHybrid (Toronto, ON, CA)