About the Company

Unnatural Products (UNP) is a growing discovery-stage biotech company pioneering macrocyclic peptide drug discovery. Our goal is to unlock the full therapeutic potential of macrocycles by bringing small molecule-like behavior to molecules with high target affinity - unlocking undruggable targets and enabling oral delivery to targets traditionally only addressable with injectable modalities.

Based in Santa Cruz, CA, we are a passionate team of scientists and operators doing high-quality science in a beautiful setting—where innovation and work-life balance go hand in hand. Come shape the future of UNP with us!

The Role

We are seeking an innovative and highly motivated Scientist with deep expertise in structural biology and protein biochemistry to join our growing team. The Scientist will contribute to multiple projects by producing well-characterized protein-ligand structures and working with computational chemists and macrocyclic peptide chemists to interrupt the results. This role is critical for advancing our external collaborations and pipeline projects.

The ideal candidate will possess a strong foundation in protein structure determination with demonstrated success in solving and interpreting high-quality X-ray crystal structures. This is a

highly collaborative role interfacing with discovery chemistry, computational science, and protein sciences to drive optimization of chemical series.

What You’ll Do

• Utilize relevant primary literature to design plasmid constructs and oversee their synthesis at Contract Research Organizations (CROs).
• Develop, optimize, and scale methods for bacterial protein expression and purification to support structural, biochemical and biophysical assays.
• Design and execute crystallization experiments for protein-ligand complexes.
• Sparse matrix array screening, crystal optimization, crystal harvesting and cryoprotection.
• Deliver high-resolution X-ray co-crystal structures and provide actionable, structure-based insights to medicinal chemistry teams.
• Lead and oversee crystallography projects at CROs, ensuring timely delivery of high-quality structural data.
• Collaborate closely with computational chemistry to maximize structural insights into solved systems.
• Engage with project teams to prioritize structural biology efforts that enhance compound potency, selectivity, and drug-like properties.
• Establish productive collaborations with other structural biologists, biochemists, biophysicists, chemists, computational chemists, and biologists.
• Contribute to the development of structural biology strategies across multiple drug discovery programs.
• Train Scientists, Lab Technicians, and Research Associates as needed.
• Maintain detailed and organized electronic lab notebooks.
• Communicate findings clearly and effectively across cross-functional teams.

Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• PhD in structural biology, biophysics, or a related field
• 7+ years of hands-on protein crystallography experience in a gene-to-structure laboratory
• 3+ years of relevant industry experience
• Demonstrated success in solving and interpreting high-quality X-ray crystal structures.
• Strong understanding of protein structure, protein chemistry, and protein-ligand interactions
• Proficiency with crystallization robotics (e.g., Mosquito, NT8, Dragonfly, RockImager).
• Skilled in data processing, structure determination, (MR, model building, ligand fitting), and structure validation.
• Experience with common crystallographic and visualization software packages such as Phenix, CCP4, HKL3000, Coot and Pymol
• Skills in various protein production platforms
• Strong experience in protein purification methods, with demonstrated application in all aspects of construct design, protein production, isolation, and characterization
• Excellent written, verbal, and visual communication skills for presenting scientific data.
• Self-motivated, collaborative, and adaptable with a strong work ethic and a growth mindset.

Additional experience preferred:

• Experience in peptide and fragment-based discovery
• Experience with co-crystallization and structure solution of macrocyclic peptides
• Experience with multiple sequence alignments and homology modeling

Why Join Us?

You will have to have an opportunity to help shape the future of a company on the rise. As our Scientist II or Senior Scientist: Structural Biology, you will have a significant impact on our drug discovery efforts. We value integrity, transparency, curiosity, and a collaborative spirit.

The salary range for the Scientist II position is $120,000 to $150,000. The salary range for the Senior Scientist position is $135,000 to $170,000. Title and compensation will be competitive and commensurate with the candidate's career experience, qualifications, and the responsibilities of the position.

We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees and applicants and welcome individuals of all backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. All employment decisions are based on business needs, job requirements, and individual qualifications, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, disability status, or any other status protected by law.