Chi tiết công việc R&D Scientist, Molecular Assays tại Forte Biotech
About Forte Biotech
Forte Biotech helps aquaculture and livestock producers manage disease risk with an easy to use on-site molecular test, used on farms across Southeast Asia. Our RAPID platform runs the whole job in one place, from extraction down to amplification using our proprietary technology. Sample to answer takes about an hour, on the farm, with no laboratory, no cold chain and no specialist training.
Our shrimp assays cover WSSV, EHP, AHPND/EMS and TPD. We are extending the platform to swine and tilapia, and new assays can be designed and added whenever samples and a subject matter partner are available.
The role
This role is built around primer design and assay performance. You will design and screen new LAMP primer sets, take them through optimisation and analytical validation, and stay with them through production and into the field. When an assay misbehaves in a customer’s hands, you are the person who works out why.
We are open to two kinds of candidate. If you have just finished a PhD and your thesis involved primer design, amplification chemistry or pathogen detection, that counts as the experience we are asking for. If you hold a Master’s and have spent a few years at the bench in a diagnostics, veterinary or research laboratory, that counts equally. What matters is that you can plan an experiment properly, read your own data honestly and write down what you found, while working with the team to build products and solve problems.
You will be based in Ho Chi Minh City. Our laboratory in Singapore is where a good deal of the development work sits, so expect trips there as the work requires.
You will not be working alone. A junior scientist in Singapore and a customer support scientist in Ho Chi Minh City work alongside this role, and a good part of the job is knowing what to hand to them and what to keep on your own bench.
What you will do
Primer and assay design
• Design and screen LAMP primer sets for new pathogens, species and sample types.
• Analyse pathogen sequences, alignments and published diagnostic methods to select targets.
• Optimise reactions for sensitivity, specificity, speed and ease of use in the field.
• Adapt existing assays to new sample types and matrices.
Analytical validation
• Plan and run limit of detection, inclusivity, exclusivity, cross-reactivity, repeatability and reproducibility studies.
• Compare performance against qPCR and other recognised reference methods.
• Perform the statistics and write the validation reports that support the performance claims we publish.
Failure investigation
• Investigate discrepant, false positive, false negative and inconclusive results, and failed or out of specification batches.
• Work out whether a field problem comes from the sample, the operator, the reagent, the device or the environment.
• Maintain a clear, searchable record of what has failed, why, and what was changed.
• Feed findings back into assay design, QC criteria and training material.
Documentation, QC and field support
• Draft and maintain SOPs, experiment plans, validation protocols and technical reports.
• Set QC methods and acceptance criteria for reagents and finished kits, and support batch release.
• Support field trials with farms, hatcheries, feedmills, laboratories and research partners.
• Train internal teams and selected partners on testing and result interpretation.
What we need
• One of the following, in biotechnology, molecular biology, microbiology, biochemistry, veterinary science, aquaculture health or a related field:
◦ a PhD, including recent graduates, or
◦ a Master’s degree with at least three years of relevant laboratory or product development experience.
• Hands-on bench experience, whether from industry, a research group or thesis work.
• Primer design experience, with the sequence analysis and alignment tools that go with it.
• Strong practical PCR and qPCR skills. LAMP experience is an advantage, and we will train the right person.
• Nucleic acid extraction and sample preparation.
• Disciplined contamination control and good molecular laboratory practice.
• Able to understand the use of AI tools and use it to increase efficiency of work
• Professional Vietnamese, and English at a professional working standard. You will deal directly with international partners, customers, contractors and research collaborators, in writing and in person.
• Willing to work in the laboratory and in the field, and to travel to Singapore and occasionally further afield.
What success looks like
First three months
• Working knowledge of our assays, protocols and open technical issues.
• Our existing failure records read, sorted and summarised, with the three issues you would look at first.
• Running experiments on your own, with acceptance criteria agreed before the work starts.
• Working comfortably with our outsourced contractors on primer set design and validation, briefing them clearly and checking what comes back.
First twelve months
• Three or more primer sets taken from design through validation, launched and shipped to customers.
• Validation reports complete and signed off within four weeks of study close.
• Field issues closed with a documented root cause rather than a replacement kit.
Terms and benefits
• Competitive salary, based on qualifications and experience, reviewed annually against performance.
• Performance bonus.
• Probation period of 60 days.
• Statutory social, health and unemployment insurance.
• Working hours 9am to 6pm, Monday to Friday.
• Travel and accommodation covered for work in Singapore and in the field.
• Technical training, conference attendance and professional development support.
• Work that reaches farms across Southeast Asia.
This role handles confidential technical information, including primer sequences and assay formulations. The successful candidate will sign a confidentiality and intellectual property assignment agreement.
