Senior Research Associate, Assay Technology - Lead Discovery at Planet Pharma
Redwood City, CA 94061
About the Job
The Opportunity
Senior Research Associate, Assay Technology - Lead Discovery
We are looking for an experienced Research Associate/Senior Research Associate to help the Discovery Sciences team accelerate our search for new oncology therapeutics
The successful candidate will join a high-performing team of experts in the use of biochemical and biophysical screening techniques to drive the efficient identification and rapid development of clinically impactful drugs against frontier targets in oncology
Working from the bench, they will apply their biochemical and biophysical expertise
The candidate will support Discovery Science efforts to enhance how we discover inhibitors of established and new drug target proteins, as well as contribute to our mission of providing high-quality experimental data for existing programs.Responsibilities
Design and execution of lead discovery screening methods and experiments to identify compound hits and advance them through hit-to-lead and lead optimization stagesCollaborate within Discovery Science and cross-functionally with Compound Management, Structural Biology, and Biology/Chemistry teams to develop and implement biochemical and biophysical assays for hit identification and lead optimization, evaluating compound potency, selectivity, and mechanism of action, biophysical and biochemical assay development.Develop, characterize, and execute novel biochemical and biophysical assays to support screening and preclinical development.Communicate scientific progress effectively to Discovery Sciences team and facilitate project execution within established timelinesGenerate, manage, evaluate, and maintain critical data in an organized manner and disseminate data broadly to relevant departmentsMaintain detailed electronic lab notebook entries, draft protocols for experiments, assay data summaries, and manage reagent stocks
Required Skills, Experience and Education:
Bachelor’s degree with 3-5 years of experience or Master’s degree with 2-3 years of experience in biochemistry, biophysics, biotechnology, or related fieldHands-on protein biochemistry experience (e.g., characterizing and analyzing protein-ligand or protein-protein interactions)Experience with biochemical/biophysical assay development, validation, and troubleshootingProficiency in execution of in vitro biochemical and biophysical assays suitable for the discovery, validation, or mechanistic characterization of target molecules (ITC, SPR/BLI, TR-FRET, fluorescence polarization, etc.)Familiarity with data processing and visualization tools for data analysis and figure generation (e.g., R, Vortex, GraphPad Prism, Genedata Screener, etc).Attention to detail with excellent organizational, experimental data recording, and time management skillsExcellent written and verbal communication skillsInnovative and flexible team-player with high energy and a demonstrated willingness to learn in a fast-paced environment
Preferred Skills:
Familiarity with automated liquid handling (SPT Dragonfly and/or Mosquito, Agilent Bravo, Tecan)Experience with high throughput screeningFacile with instrumentation, able to trouble shoot problems and work with engineers to generate successful solutions to technical limitations.Rigorous, quantitative, detail-oriented experimentalist with an understanding of statistics.
Senior Research Associate, Assay Technology - Lead Discovery
We are looking for an experienced Research Associate/Senior Research Associate to help the Discovery Sciences team accelerate our search for new oncology therapeutics
The successful candidate will join a high-performing team of experts in the use of biochemical and biophysical screening techniques to drive the efficient identification and rapid development of clinically impactful drugs against frontier targets in oncology
Working from the bench, they will apply their biochemical and biophysical expertise
The candidate will support Discovery Science efforts to enhance how we discover inhibitors of established and new drug target proteins, as well as contribute to our mission of providing high-quality experimental data for existing programs.Responsibilities
Design and execution of lead discovery screening methods and experiments to identify compound hits and advance them through hit-to-lead and lead optimization stagesCollaborate within Discovery Science and cross-functionally with Compound Management, Structural Biology, and Biology/Chemistry teams to develop and implement biochemical and biophysical assays for hit identification and lead optimization, evaluating compound potency, selectivity, and mechanism of action, biophysical and biochemical assay development.Develop, characterize, and execute novel biochemical and biophysical assays to support screening and preclinical development.Communicate scientific progress effectively to Discovery Sciences team and facilitate project execution within established timelinesGenerate, manage, evaluate, and maintain critical data in an organized manner and disseminate data broadly to relevant departmentsMaintain detailed electronic lab notebook entries, draft protocols for experiments, assay data summaries, and manage reagent stocks
Required Skills, Experience and Education:
Bachelor’s degree with 3-5 years of experience or Master’s degree with 2-3 years of experience in biochemistry, biophysics, biotechnology, or related fieldHands-on protein biochemistry experience (e.g., characterizing and analyzing protein-ligand or protein-protein interactions)Experience with biochemical/biophysical assay development, validation, and troubleshootingProficiency in execution of in vitro biochemical and biophysical assays suitable for the discovery, validation, or mechanistic characterization of target molecules (ITC, SPR/BLI, TR-FRET, fluorescence polarization, etc.)Familiarity with data processing and visualization tools for data analysis and figure generation (e.g., R, Vortex, GraphPad Prism, Genedata Screener, etc).Attention to detail with excellent organizational, experimental data recording, and time management skillsExcellent written and verbal communication skillsInnovative and flexible team-player with high energy and a demonstrated willingness to learn in a fast-paced environment
Preferred Skills:
Familiarity with automated liquid handling (SPT Dragonfly and/or Mosquito, Agilent Bravo, Tecan)Experience with high throughput screeningFacile with instrumentation, able to trouble shoot problems and work with engineers to generate successful solutions to technical limitations.Rigorous, quantitative, detail-oriented experimentalist with an understanding of statistics.
