Scientist in Molecular Dynamics of Proteins

Company

EV Biotech is a young, dynamic, interdisciplinary company based in Groningen, the Netherlands. Our mission is to reduce the use of fossil fuels in the chemical market and steer it to the biological compound production. We distinguish ourselves through the use of state-of-the-art computational modelling and close collaboration between wet- and dry-lab. We create computational models of bacterial strains to predict most optimal strain modifications, growth media supplementation and scale-up optimization in line with the rational design strategy.
 

Project

A key to the rational design of microbial cell factories is optimally designed synthetic metabolic pathway embedded in the host microorganism. You will be in charge of conducting molecular modelling studies to get a better understanding of molecular determinants involved in function and substrate recognition of several enzymes. The objective will then be to apply molecular modelling and computational enzyme design tools to redesign these enzymes to achieve the desired catalytic properties and drive the experimental construction of enzyme mutant libraries.

Key responsibilities

• In silico experiments aimed at protein characterization and engineering to increase activity, selectivity and stability using computational approaches such as docking, molecular dynamics, homology modelling
• Setup the state-of-the-art software infrastructure necessary to fulfil required modelling tasks and integrate them with the existing workflow
• Close collaboration with modelling/laboratory teams
   

Qualification and background

• PhD in Molecular Modelling, Structural biology , Biophysics or related field
• Demonstrable skills with state-of-the-art molecular modelling tools
• Experience in de novo prediction, visualization and analysis of protein structures, molecule docking and molecular dynamics of protein-ligand complexes
• Comfortable with working in a Linux environment and with using scripting languages such as Perl or Python
• Experience with collaborative software development tools, e.g. Git, Overleaf etc.
• Experience in other bioinformatics tools and statistics is a plus
• Experience in the analysis of large datasets and automation of workflows is a plus
• Strong communication and organizational skills and enjoy working in a team-oriented environment
• High proficiency in spoken and written English
   

Work Environment

EV Biotech is committed to creating a diverse work environment and applicants are considered without regard to ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or age. Female researchers are encouraged to apply.
 

Special conditions

The availability of this position is dependent on the award of the H2020 SME Innovation Associate Grant. The Mobility Rule is applicable to this grant, meaning that at the time of recruitment, the applicant must not have resided or carried out his/her main activity (work, studies, etc.) in The Netherlands for more than a total of 12 months over the last three years.