Protein Design Team Lead

Role purpose

Lead the development and application of computational protein design capabilities within the Bioinformatics group to support Seeds R&D in China. The role is responsible for growing a team and advancing technical capabilities that enable the discovery engineering and optimization of proteins for agricultural applications. Working closely with trait discovery scientists molecular biologists breeders and digital partners the Protein Design Team Lead will translate biological challenges into innovative protein engineering solutions that accelerate the development of insect control herbicide tolerance disease control genome editing abiotic stress tolerance yield enhancement and other next-generation trait technologies.

Accountabilities

• Team Leadership & Capability Development. Recruit mentor and lead a high-performing team of protein design scientists and computational biologists. Establish technical standards best practices and reusable workflows that advance capabilities in protein engineering structural biology machine learning and computational design. Foster collaboration across China and global Bioinformatics teams to support long-term Seeds R&D objectives.

• Protein Design & Engineering Innovation. Lead the development and application of computational approaches for protein discovery engineering and optimization. Apply advances in protein sequence analysis structural biology machine learning and generative design to create innovative solutions supporting insect control herbicide tolerance disease control genome editing and other biotechnology and breeding objectives.

• Design Platforms Workflows & Computational Methods. Establish and maintain scalable protein design workflows and computational platforms that support sequence analysis structure prediction protein engineering design prioritization and candidate evaluation. Continuously assess and implement emerging technologies that improve the efficiency and success rate of protein discovery and optimization programs.

• Trait Pipeline & Experimental Integration. Partner closely with trait discovery scientists molecular biologists breeders and the Omics Core Lab to translate agricultural challenges into tractable protein engineering objectives. Establish iterative design-build-test-learn workflows that integrate experimental data enabling continuous 
• refinement of protein designs and accelerated delivery of candidates into the Seeds pipeline.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration & Scientific Partnerships. Collaborate with Bioinformatics AI Engineering Functional Genomics Traits Digitalization & Genomics and research teams to integrate protein design capabilities into broader discovery workflows. Develop and maintain productive collaborations with external academic industrial and technology partners to accelerate innovation and expand access to emerging scientific capabilities.

• Technology Strategy & Scientific Advancement. Monitor developments in protein engineering structural biology artificial intelligence and computational biotechnology. Evaluate emerging methods platforms and strategic partnerships that can strengthen Syngentas protein design capabilities and accelerate the development of next-generation agricultural technologies.

Qualifications :

Knowledge Experiences & Capabilities

• Knowledge:
  • Strong understanding of protein structure-function relationships protein biochemistry protein engineering molecular interactions stability and design principles.
  • Knowledge of computational protein design approaches structural biology machine learning and AI methods applied to protein discovery and optimization.
  • Familiarity with modern protein modeling technologies including protein language models generative design methods and structure prediction tools.
  • Understanding of biotechnology research biological data analysis and experimental workflows used to characterize and validate protein function and performance.
  • Basic understanding of plant biology crop genetics and agricultural trait discovery is preferred.
• Education and Experience
  • Ph.D. in Computational Biology Bioinformatics Structural Biology Protein Engineering Biochemistry or a related quantitative discipline.
  • 5 years of experience in computational protein design protein engineering structural biology AI for biology or related scientific research roles including experience leading technical projects and/or teams.
  • Demonstrated success applying computational methods to protein discovery optimization or engineering with experience supporting experimental validation and design-build-test-learn cycles.
  • Experience working in multidisciplinary environments spanning biology bioinformatics

Additional Information :

Note: Syngenta is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate in recruitment hiring training promotion or any other employment practices for reasons of race color religion gender national origin age sexual orientation gender identity marital or veteran status disability or any other legally protected status.

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Remote Work :

No

Employment Type :

Full-time