Application Scientist

HAWK Biosystems; Bilbao; On-site; EUR 52,000 - 78,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Permanent contract

On-site at Zamudio (Bilbao)

High ownership role

International collaborations

Dynamic, multidisciplinary team

Job summary

HAWK Biosystems is seeking an Application Scientist to lead scientific aspects of client projects and drive the development of QF-Pro® reagents. You will manage studies from design through final report and discuss results with clients, while contributing to R&D on reagent kits and future product features.

The role requires a PhD or a Life Sciences degree with substantial laboratory experience, strong English communication, and willingness to travel occasionally.

Qualifications

• PhD in Life Sciences or equivalent with strong lab background.
• Proven ability to run scientific projects independently, from design to results.
• Fluent English; Spanish a plus.

Responsibilities

• Act as scientific lead for client projects during pre-sales and execution phases.
• Provide technical input for quotes and proposals and present science to clients and partners.
• Lead PoC projects on cell and FFPE samples with end-to-end project management.
• Interpret results in biological context and prepare client-ready reports.

Skills

English proficiency

Independent project management

Critical thinking

Scientific writing

Immunofluorescence/Immunohistochemi

Travel availability

Education

PhD in Life Sciences (Biology, Biochemistry, Biotechnology, Biomedicine, or related)

University degree + 4 years hands-on lab experience

Job description

HAWK Biosystems is a deep-tech biotechnology company spun off from the Francis Crick Institute and based in the Science and Technology Park of Bizkaia. Our proprietary QF-Pro® Technology is an in situ quantitative interactomics analysis technology. It measures functional protein–protein interactions and activation states directly in fixed cells and FFPE tissue. This is biological information that expression, proximity, or co-localization analysis cannot provide. We partner with pharma, biotech, academic, and clinical teams worldwide to answer translational research questions and to support the development of more personalized therapies for patients.

We are growing our team and are looking for an Application Scientist to work at the interface between our Life Science Business Unit and our Product team. The role combines leading the scientific side of our client projects with driving the scientific development of our products.

Role Overview

As Application Scientist, you will be the scientific owner of our client projects. During the pre-sales phase, you will support the Business Development team: you will understand each client’s scientific question, assess feasibility, and design the right study. You will then run the project in our laboratory through to the final report and the results discussion with the client.

This role is built for fully independent scientist. You will own every project from start to finish. That means making scientific decisions, anticipating and troubleshooting technical issues, critically interpreting the data, and clearly presenting results that both internal and external clients can rely on. We are looking for someone with sound scientific judgment, a rigorous and critical mindset, and the confidence to discuss science with senior pharma and academic stakeholders.

Alongside client projects, you will lead R&D on our QF-Pro® reagent kit and contribute both to the scientific improvement of our current products as well as leading the design of new reagent products. You will turn what you learn in the laboratory and from clients into better reagents, protocols, and workflows.

Key Responsibilities

• Act as the scientific point of contact for prospective clients during the pre-sales phase. Join Business Development calls and meetings, understand each client’s research question, assess feasibility, and design tailored studies, including biomarker selection, antibody strategy, sample requirements, controls, and readouts.
• Provide technical input for quotes and proposals (scope, timelines, and deliverables), and deliver scientific presentations on QF-Pro® Technology to clients and partners, and at scientific events.
• Lead client service and Proof-of-Concept (PoC) projects end to end on cell and FFPE tissue samples, from sample reception and quality assessment, assay setup, and immunofluorescence staining to image acquisition and quantitative data analysis.Manage timelines and priorities across several projects in parallel.
• Critically interpret results in their biological context, prepare client-ready technical reports, and present them to clients, working with the Business Development team to identify follow-up opportunities.
• Lead R&D on the QF-Pro® reagent kit: develop and optimize new reagents, formulations, and protocols, and improve kit performance, robustness, and reproducibility, including stability, lot-to-lot consistency, and compatibility with new sample types and biomarkers.
• Work with the Product team on the scientific improvement of the product. Define scientific requirements, test new features of the platform workflow and data analysis, and turn feedback from clients, distributors, and users into improvement proposals and new applications for QF-Pro® Technology.
• Ensure that all work follows HAWK’s ISO 13485 quality management system and good laboratory practices, including design and development documentation, verification, and validation activities, with full traceability.
• Provide on-site and remote technical training and support to distributors and clients, and support scientific communication with the Marketing team through application notes, case studies, webinars, and congress materials.

Qualifications

One of the following:

1. PhD in Life Sciences (Biology, Biochemistry, Biotechnology, Biomedicine, or a related field).
2. University degree in Life Sciences plus at least 4 years of hands-on laboratory experience in a related field (academic research, biotech/pharma, diagnostics, or CRO).

• Professional working proficiency in English, written and spoken. Spanish is a plus.
• Proven ability to run scientific projects independently, from experimental design to final results.
• Strong critical thinking and problem-solving skills. You should have the rigor to question data and the judgment to make sound scientific decisions.
• Excellent scientific writing and communication skills, including the ability to present complex results to different audiences.
• Solid hands-on experience with immunofluorescence and/or immunohistochemistry on FFPE tissue and cell-based samples
• Availability to travel occasionally.

Nice to have

• Experience with FRET/FLIM, quantitative imaging, or spatial biology.
• Client-facing experience in a CRO, service laboratory, technical support, or field application role.
• Experience in reagent or kit development in an industry setting, including antibody-based reagents or conjugates.
• Knowledge of GLP and quality management systems (ISO 13485), including design controls, verification, and validation.
• Background in oncology, immuno-oncology, or translational biomarker research.

What We Offer

• Permanent contract, on-site at our laboratory in Zamudio (Bilbao).
• A key, high-ownership role at the interface between science, clients, and product development in a growing deep-tech company.
• Exposure to international pharma, biotech, and academic collaborations.
• A dynamic, supportive, and multidisciplinary team.