# Computational Chemistry / Theory Consultant

**Company:** [Astera](https://hotfix.jobs/companies/astera)
**Location:** Emeryville, CA
**Role:** Other
**Salary:** $312k – $416k/yr
**Skills:** poisson-boltzmann, molecular dynamics, continuum modeling, nanomechanics, electrostatics, fret, cryo-em, force spectroscopy
**Posted:** 2026-07-23

> Provide expert molecular simulation and theory for a nanoscale electrostatic actuator, modeling electrostatics, nanomechanics, and predicting experimental observables like FRET distances and force behavior to guide device design and iteration. Requires PhD-level expertise in interfacial electrostatics and nanomechanics.

## Job Description

## Responsibilities
- Model electrostatic actuation — how an applied field drives the charged DNA-origami plate through an ionic solution and into a polymer cushion — using appropriate methods (e.g., Poisson–Boltzmann, explicit-ion molecular dynamics, or continuum modeling) to predict the device's voltage–displacement and force behavior.
- Model the actuator's nanomechanics: the stiffness and mechanical modes of the plate, force transmitter, and amplifying linkage, and the coupled electro-mechanical response.
- Predict single-molecule fluorescence (FRET) distances, expected structural geometry (for cryo-EM comparison), operational force-distance-voltage surfaces, and surface-attachment energetics, giving the experimental team a quantitative theoretical baseline.
- Deliver prediction-versus-measurement comparison reports that flag where the device diverges from theory and guide the next design iteration.

## Qualifications and Experience
- PhD-level expertise in molecular simulation and interfacial electrostatics (e.g., Poisson–Boltzmann, explicit-ion molecular dynamics, or continuum methods) and in nanomechanics, ideally at bio–inorganic interfaces.
- Judgment about which method fits which question — in particular, when coarse-grained structural models are and are not adequate for electrostatics.
- Demonstrated experience predicting experimental observables (fluorescence, force spectroscopy, electrostatics) and validating them against measurement.
- Availability for a project-based contract engagement from the program's start, working closely with the design and device-physics leads.

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