Biochemistry Research Associate - Protein Biochemistry - CDI- M/F

Pierre Fabre is the 2nd largest dermo-cosmetics laboratory in the world, the 2nd largest private French pharmaceutical group and the market leader in France for products sold over the counter in pharmacies.

Its portfolio includes several medical franchises and international brands including Pierre Fabre Oncologie, Pierre Fabre Dermatologie, Eau Thermale Avène, Klorane, Ducray, René Furterer, A-Derma, Naturactive, Pierre Fabre Oral Care. 

Established in the Occitanie region since its creation, and manufacturing over 95% of its products in France, the Group employs some 10,000 people worldwide. Its products are distributed in about 130 countries. 86% of the Pierre Fabre Group is held by the Pierre Fabre Foundation, a government-recognized public-interest foundation, while a smaller share is owned by its employees via an employee stock ownership plan. 

In 2019, Ecocert Environment assessed the Group’s corporate social and environmental responsibility approach in accordance with the ISO 26000 sustainable development standard and awarded it the “Excellence” level.

Pierre Fabre is recognized as one of the "World's Best Employers 2021" by Forbes. Our group is ranked in the Top 3 in the cosmetics industry and in the Top 10 in the pharmaceutical industry worldwide. 

Your mission

We are seeking for a talented and highly motivated Biochemistry Research Associate to join our Oncology Drug Discovery team and support our small molecule/antibody identification and characterization efforts.

The ideal candidate will have relevant experience in the pharmaceutical/biotech industry, with sound hands-on expertise in designing, executing and interpreting “gene-to-protein” experiments with state-of-the-art molecular biology and protein biochemistry techniques.

This position is a lab-based and attached to our Oncopôle site in Toulouse, France.

Your role within a pioneering company in full expansion:

Key Responsibilities

• Design protein constructs for structural and functional characterization purposes.
• Generate vectors for heterologous recombinant protein expression in bacteria, insect- and mammalian cell hosts.
• Develop and optimize methods for protein extraction, purification, characterization and quantification with a high level of independent critical thinking.
• Characterize protein biomolecular interactions in support to target discovery and validation efforts by the target discovery and enablement teams.
• Ensure high-quality data generation, analysis, and timely report to project teams.
• Leverage lab automation to improve assay operation, quality, and overall productivity.
• Properly document experimental design, findings, and protocols and comply with all laboratory training and safety requirements.

• Collaborate with multi-disciplinary project teams and communicate scientific/technical contributions to deliver on project goals in relevant meetings.
• Establish relationships and coordinate collaborations with vendors, external partners and CROs to achieve high standards of productivity and quality, extend internal capabilities and optimally serve project needs.
• Drive scientific and technical innovations to develop and enhance functional capabilities.

We offer an attractive remuneration/benefits package: Incentives, profit-sharing, Pierre Fabre shareholding with matching contribution, health and provident insurance, 16 days of holidays (RTT) in addition to 25 days of personal holidays, public transport participation, very attractive CE...

Your skills at the service of innovative projects:

Qualifications, Experience and Skills

• MSc in Biochemistry, Biophysics or related field with 5+ years’ relevant experience in a biotech/pharmaceutical setting (or recent Ph.D. with significant exposure to drug discovery).
• Demonstrated hands-on proficiency in a wide range of protein expression systems.
• Hands-on experience with protein extraction and purification methods (e.g. cell lysis, ultracentrifugation, dialysis, liquid chromatography)
• Working knowledge of techniques for the characterization of protein-protein and protein-ligand interactions (e.g. thermal unfolding/denaturation, light scattering, analytical ultracentrifugation, structural MS)
• Proficiency with relevant data processing analysis and visualization software tools.
• Expertise with protein structural characterization (e.g. X-ray crystallography, NMR,…) and knowledge on adjacent disciplines (e.g. assay development) are highly desired.
• Experience in oncology is a plus.
• Motivated and agile team player with the ability to work in a collaborative environment across the R&D organization.
• Excellent verbal, and written communication skills in English are essential.

We are convinced that diversity is a source of fulfillment, social balance and complementarity for our employees, which is why our offers are open to all, without restriction.