Structural Biologist

About Superluminal Medicines:

Superluminal Medicines is a generative biology and chemistry company revolutionizing the speed and accuracy of how small molecule medicines are created. The Company’s platform aims to create candidate-ready compounds with unprecedented speed using a combination of deep biology, computational and medicinal chemistry, machine learning, and proprietary big data infrastructure. We are expanding the team of talented scientists who seek to build the future of small molecule drug discovery with creativity and innovation.

About the Role:

We are seeking a highly motivated, detail-oriented scientist to advance our cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structural biology capabilities at our Bozeman, Montana facility. Superluminal is a target- and structure-first drug discovery organization focused on GPCRs and other membrane protein targets. This is a scientist-level position where the primary responsibility will be generating atomic-resolution structures of membrane proteins bound to small molecule ligands, and leveraging experimental data to inform understanding of protein-ligand interactions, conformational landscapes, and structure-activity relationships.

Key Responsibilities:

• Prepare protein samples for cryo-EM single particle analysis by vitrification, including grid screening and optimization.

• Operate electron microscopes to collect high-quality cryo-EM datasets.

• Process cryo-EM datasets and reconstruct 3D density maps of protein-ligand complexes.

• Build and refine atomic models into experimental density with rigor and attention to detail.

• Develop scripts and tools to automate and enhance data processing workflows.

• Analyze and manipulate electron density maps programmatically for specialized applications.

• Model conformational heterogeneity and map conformational landscapes to inform drug discovery.

• Present structural findings to cross-functional teams and contribute to structure-based drug design discussions.

• Maintain thorough documentation and adhere to data management standards.

• Collaborate with colleagues to develop and refine methodologies for cryo-EM analysis of membrane proteins.

• Collaborate with colleagues in medicinal chemistry and computational chemistry to maximize impact of experimental structures on drug discovery programs.

Required Qualifications:

• PhD in structural biology, biochemistry, biophysics, or a related field

• Demonstrated hands-on experience with single-particle cryo-EM (sample preparation, data collection, and/or image processing) or significant experience with X-ray crystallography techniques.

• Experience with Linux/HPC computing environments.

• Strong organizational, communication, and record-keeping skills.

• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with membrane protein biochemistry or structural biology.

• Familiarity with cryo-EM processing software such as CryoSPARC, RELION, or cryoSPARC Live.

• Experience with model building and refinement tools (Rosetta, Coot, ChimeraX, Phenix, or similar).

• Experience with programmatic analysis and manipulation of electron density maps in Fourier and real space.

• Programming experience, particularly Python; familiarity with C a plus.

• Experience modeling conformational heterogeneity, including ensemble modeling, multi-state refinement, or mapping conformational landscapes from cryo-EM data.

• Experience with protein design or co-folding techniques, such as RosettaFold, ProteinMPNN, BoltzGen.

Equal Opportunity Statement:

Superluminal Medicines is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to a culturally diverse workforce. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race; color; creed; religion; national origin; age; ancestry; nationality; marital, domestic partnership or civil union status; sex, gender, gender identity or expression; affectional or sexual orientation; disability; veteran or military status or liability for military status.