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DREAM Project Manager Lead

The AI-Driven, Rapid, Experimental Automation Machine (DREAM) Cloud Lab for Protein Engineering aims to be a national user facility that will accelerate the engineering of proteins for a range of important biotechnology applications spanning manufacturing, materials, medicine, waste recycling, agriculture, food, mining and more. Through creating and operating an automated cell-free protein synthesis and characterization wet-lab, connected through an AI-directed protein design-build-test-learn framework, DREAM will enable users from across the U.S. to engineer custom proteins in rapid, automated, accessible and reliable steps instead of the months to years required with current practices. DREAM will be housed with the SynBio Foundry in the Northwestern Center for Synthetic Biology (NU CSB), a world-renowned center for engineering impactful biotechnologies.

DREAM is seeking a full-time Project Manager Lead who will work in close partnership with the Node Director, Professor Julius Lucks, to manage the budget, schedule, and scope of the DREAM project. This role will be responsible for developing, implementing, and managing the Node’s Project Execution Plan, a comprehensive document that defines project governance, development approaches and tailoring, stakeholder engagement and communications, scope, schedule, cost strategy, risk and issue management, compliance requirements, and related information.

The Project Manager Lead will also play an active role in addressing scientific, engineering, and management challenges to increase DREAM’s operational efficiency and scale. The position will help drive seamless execution across several core areas, including cell-free protein synthesis, wet lab workflows, robotic automation, computational protein design, data infrastructure, and biosafety/biosecurity systems. The Project Manager Lead will supervise DREAM’s scientific and computational staff and collaborate closely with NU CSB faculty leads, trainees, and staff across core areas to track progress, coordinate activities, and ensure achievement of project milestones. The ideal candidate combines expertise in cell-free synthetic biology, protein engineering, and experience with machine learning with strong formal project management expertise, enabling them to work across multidisciplinary teams to build and scale DREAM.

DREAM Project Coordinator

The AI-Driven, Rapid, Experimental Automation Machine (DREAM) Cloud Lab for Protein Engineering aims to be a national user facility that will accelerate the engineering of proteins for a range of important biotechnology applications spanning manufacturing, materials, medicine, waste recycling, agriculture, food, mining and more. Through creating and operating an automated cell-free protein synthesis and characterization wet-lab, connected through an AI-directed protein design-build-test-learn framework, DREAM will enable users from across the U.S. to engineer custom proteins in rapid, automated, accessible and reliable steps instead of the months to years required with current practices. DREAM will be housed with the SynBio Foundry in the Northwestern Center for Synthetic Biology (NU CSB), a world-renowned center for engineering impactful biotechnologies.

DREAM is seeking a Project Coordinator who will support day-to-day operations, working closely with the Operations Director and the Node Director, Professor Julius Lucks, to ensure efficient execution across technical and administrative activities. This role will focus on coordination, logistics, and program support (e.g., helping track deliverables, manage communications, and support operations across wet lab, automation, and data science teams). The position is well-suited for a highly organized individual who thrives in a fast-paced, interdisciplinary environment and can manage multiple priorities with strong attention to detail.

DREAM Postdoctoral Researcher - Lucks Lab

We are seeking a creative and enthusiastic postdoctoral researcher to lead a new project on AI-directed engineering of cell-free biosensors using automated wet-lab approaches as part of the AI-Driven, Rapid, Experimental Automation Machine (DREAM) Cloud Lab for Protein Engineering at Northwestern University. Our laboratory has pioneered the development of cell-free biosensor technologies that can detect compounds in applications including environmental contaminant detection, food quality measurement, agricultural compound detection and human health diagnostics. In this project we are taking the next step to develop high-throughput protein biosensor engineering to identify biosensors for an expanded range of applications, and optimize them for field use.

DREAM Research Scientist

The AI-Driven, Rapid, Experimental Automation Machine (DREAM) Cloud Lab for Protein Engineering aims to be a national user facility that will accelerate the engineering of proteins for a range of important biotechnology applications spanning manufacturing, materials, medicine, waste recycling, agriculture, food, mining and more. Through creating and operating an automated cell-free protein synthesis and characterization wet-lab, connected through an AI-directed protein design-build-test-learn framework, DREAM will enable users from across the U.S. to engineer custom proteins in rapid, automated, accessible and reliable steps instead of the months to years required with current practices. DREAM will be housed with the SynBio Foundry in the Northwestern Center for Synthetic Biology (NU CSB), a world-renowned center for engineering impactful biotechnologies.

DREAM is seeking to hire a Research Associate who will serve as a Research Scientist. The Research Scientist will serve as a lead experimentalist responsible for onboarding, developing, and troubleshooting cell-free protein engineering workflows within the automated cloud lab. This role will manage multiple experimental tracks, combining biological expertise with hands-on experience in automation platforms. The Research Scientist will enable robust, scalable, and reproducible workflows with a particular emphasis on cell-free protein synthesis and protein characterization. The Research Scientist will also work with DREAM data scientists to generate data compatible with AI-directed protein design. The Research Scientist will work closely alongside the NU CSB Foundry Scientist, Lauren Clark, as well as the Node Director, Professor Julius Lucks, as well as other DREAM staff and NU CSB faculty and trainees.

DREAM Data Scientist

The AI-Driven, Rapid, Experimental Automation Machine (DREAM) Cloud Lab for Protein Engineering aims to be a national user facility that will accelerate the engineering of proteins for a range of important biotechnology applications spanning manufacturing, materials, medicine, waste recycling, agriculture, food, mining and more. Through creating and operating an automated cell-free protein synthesis and characterization wet-lab, connected through an AI-directed protein design-build-test-learn framework, DREAM will enable users from across the U.S. to engineer custom proteins in rapid, automated, accessible and reliable steps instead of the months to years required with current practices. DREAM will be housed in the Northwestern Center for Synthetic Biology (NU CSB), a world-renowned center for engineering impactful biotechnologies.

Dream is seeking to hire a Research Associate who will serve as an AI Research Scientist. The AI Research Scientist will develop and maintain AI-driven protein engineering workflows that enable automated application of a suite of AI protein design algorithms, analysis of experimental data, and active learning workflows. This position will also lead the creation and maintenance of agentic AI, data warehousing, and user interface layers that will underpin DREAM operations and user interfaces. In addition, the AI Research Scientist will work closely with internal NU CSB users, external users and DREAM wet lab staff to understand specific protein engineering projects and design and implement AI algorithms to execute them. This role will manage a portfolio spanning machine learning, data engineering, and scientific computing to accelerate protein engineering efforts. The AI Research Scientist will work closely alongside with the Node Director, Professor Julius Lucks, the Data and AI lead, Professor Han Liu, as well as other DREAM staff and NU CSB faculty and trainees.