Nucleic Acids Specialist, ATMF

Job Title Nucleic Acids Specialist, ATMF

Job Category Non Union Technicians and Research Assistants

Job Profile Non Union Salaried

• Research Assistant /Technician 4

Job Family Group Staff

• Non Union

Department Process Development | ATMF | Faculty of Medicine

Compensation Range $5,538.94 - $6,497.44 CAD Monthly

Job End Date November 30, 2028

Posting End Date October 30, 2026

Note: Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the Posting End Date.

At UBC, we believe that attracting and sustaining a diverse workforce is key to the successful pursuit of excellence in research, innovation, and learning for all faculty, staff and students. Our commitment to employment equity helps achieve inclusion and fairness, brings rich diversity to UBC as a workplace, and creates the necessary conditions for a rewarding career.

Job Summary

The Advanced Therapeutics Manufacturing Facility (ATMF) is a new CFI-funded project and part of Canada’s Immuno-Engineering and Biomanufacturing Hub (CIEBH), a UBC-led national research hub that aims to align the critical mass of immune-engineering with biomanufacturing and public health strengths concentrated in BC. This multi-year, multi-phase initiative aims to build a Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) biomanufacturing core facility to produce advanced therapeutics - such as cells, mRNA vaccines, viral vectors, and ancillary plasmid DNA - essential for early-phase clinical trials, addressing current health challenges, and strengthening Canada’s pandemic preparedness.

The Nucleic Acids Specialist, ATMF is a senior technical position responsible for developing, executing, troubleshooting, and evaluating molecular biology and nucleic-acid manufacturing processes, with a particular focus on plasmid DNA and RNA therapeutics. The incumbent applies deep knowledge of molecular biology and nucleic acid biochemistry to the design and evaluation of DNA constructs used for in vitro transcription (IVT), viral vector production, and other advanced therapeutic applications.

Working within the ATMF process development laboratory, the role develops and scales plasmid DNA and IVT processes, establishes analytical approaches to assess nucleic-acid product quality, and supports translation of laboratory-scale methods toward controlled and reproducible manufacturing processes. This includes development of scalable plasmid fermentation and purification processes, optimization and scale-up of IVT reactions and RNA purification, and characterization of critical product quality attributes.

Depending on expertise and project needs, the role may also contribute to lipid nanoparticle (LNP) formulation and RNA-LNP characterization.

The position is expected to independently plan experiments with minimum supervision, evaluate construct and process design, identify technical risks, troubleshoot unexpected results, and recommend scientifically justified next steps. The role supports translational research projects from academic and industry collaborators, drafts standard operating procedures and technical reports, and maintains records to standards that support technology transfer to GMP manufacturing.

The Nucleic Acids Specialist reports directly to the Manager, Process Development

• Nucleic Acids, and works closely with other members of the ATMF Process Development (PD) team, GMP production teams, Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Control (QC) personnel, and external partners to support the timely development of translational products.

Organizational Status

The University of British Columbia is a global centre for research and teaching, consistently ranked among the top 20 public universities in the world. Since 1915, UBC’s entrepreneurial spirit has embraced innovation and challenged the status quo. UBC encourages its students, staff and faculty to challenge convention, lead discovery and explore new ways of learning. At UBC, bold thinking is given a place to develop into ideas that can change the world.

Our Vision: To Transform Health for Everyone.

Ranked among the world’s top medical schools with the fifth-largest MD enrollment in North America, the UBC Faculty of Medicine is a leader in both the science and the practice of medicine. Across British Columbia, more than 12,000 faculty and staff are training the next generation of doctors and health care professionals, making remarkable discoveries, and helping to create the pathways to better health for our communities at home and around the world.

The Faculty - comprised of approximately 2,200 administrative support, technical/research and management and professional staff, as well approximately 650 full-time academic and over 10,000 clinical faculty members - is composed of 19 academic basic science and/or clinical departments, 3 schools, and 25 research centres and institutes. Together with its University and Health Authority partners, the Faculty delivers innovative programs and conducts research in the areas of health and life sciences.

Faculty, staff and trainees are located at university campuses, clinical academic campuses in hospital settings and other regionally based centres across the province.

The UBC Vancouver Campus is located on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) people. The City of Vancouver is located on Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations territory.

The Nucleic Acids Specialist is a member of the ATMF Process Development team. The position interacts closely with Process Development, GMP Production, Quality Assurance, Quality Control, academic collaborators, and industry partners to support development and timely advancement of nucleic-acid-based translational products.

Work Performed

• Molecular Biology and Plasmid Design
• Designs and evaluates plasmid DNA constructs for use in IVT, viral vector production, and other advanced therapeutic applications.
• Applies advanced knowledge of molecular biology to construct design, including selection and optimization of promoters, untranslated regions, coding sequences, poly(A) elements, restriction sites, regulatory elements, and other sequence features relevant to the intended manufacturing process and final product.
• Reviews DNA and RNA sequences for design errors, sequence integrity, manufacturability, and compatibility with downstream applications before experimental work is initiated.
• Designs cloning strategies and performs or oversees molecular cloning, plasmid modification, sequence verification, and characterization of plasmid constructs.
• Develops and troubleshoots molecular biology workflows using techniques such as PCR, qPCR/ddPCR, restriction digestion, gel or capillary electrophoresis, DNA/RNA purification, and sequencing.
• Provides technical expertise in nucleic acid biology and construct design to ATMF staff and academic and industry collaborators.
• Plasmid DNA Process Development and Scale-Up
• Develops and optimizes processes for production and purification of plasmid DNA suitable for downstream manufacturing applications, including IVT and viral vector production.
• Evaluates bacterial strains, culture conditions, media, fermentation parameters, plasmid yield and quality, and downstream purification strategies.
• Develops approaches for transitioning laboratory-scale plasmid production to controlled bioreactor/fermentation processes and progressively larger manufacturing scales.
• Identifies critical process parameters and critical quality attributes relevant to plasmid DNA manufacturing and evaluates the impact of process changes on product yield and quality.
• Develops methods for assessing plasmid identity, purity, concentration, integrity, topology/supercoiled content, and other quality attributes relevant to downstream use.
• Troubleshoots plasmid production and purification processes and performs systematic root-cause analysis when expected yield or product quality is not achieved.
• mRNA/IVT Process Development and Scale-Up
• Develops, optimizes