Principal Scientist, Assay Development

Spear Bio; Woburn (MA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

An innovative and rapidly growing start-up is seeking a Principal Scientist to lead the development of ultrasensitive immunoassays. This role involves mentoring junior scientists, designing assays, and contributing to scientific literature. The ideal candidate will have a PhD in Biochemistry or a related field, with extensive experience in immunoassay development and protein biology. Join a forward-thinking company dedicated to revolutionizing early disease diagnosis and monitoring. This is a unique opportunity to make a significant impact in a high-growth environment focused on improving patient outcomes and advancing global health.

Benefits

Competitive Compensation

Stock Ownership

Comprehensive Benefits

Great Work Environment

Qualifications

• 4+ years developing ultrasensitive blood-based protein biomarker immunoassays.
• Deep technical experience in immunoassay development and protein chemistry.

Responsibilities

• Lead/mentor junior scientists in developing immunoassays for research and clinical use.
• Design and develop ELISA assays for ultrasensitive detection of analytes.

Skills

Immunoassay Development

Protein Biology

Analytical Skills

Statistical Methodologies

Project Management

Problem-Solving Skills

Education

PhD in Biochemistry

PhD in Analytical Chemistry

Tools

ELISA

Real-Time PCR

SDS-PAGE

Luminex

Biacore

Job description

Spear Bio, founded in 2021, is a well-funded and rapidly growing start-up headquartered in Woburn, Massachusetts. Our proprietary technology,Successive Proximity Extension Amplification Reaction (SPEAR), is a novel wash-free immunoassay platform, offering unprecedented sensitivity. We are dedicated to revolutionizing early disease diagnosis and monitoring by providing scalable, ultrasensitive solutions that deliver unparalleled accuracy in measuring low-abundant biomarkers, enabling clinicians and researchers to improve patient outcomes and advance global health.

Principal Scientist:

The Principal Scientist will help lead/mentor Spear Bio’s Assay Development junior scientists and contribute to the development and verification of our new range of ultrasensitive immunoassays. This role will have cross-functional responsibilities and work closely with the Platform and Product Development teams. The Principal Scientist will be expected to have a strong track record in immunoassay development for research and clinical applications and a deep understanding of protein biology.

Responsibilities:

• Lead/mentor junior scientists in developing a robust portfolio of immunoassays, and qualify and/or validate assays for research and clinical use.
• Be the subject matter expert in the field of protein biomarkers for neurodegeneration or immuno-oncology.
• Design and develop ELISA based assays for ultrasensitive detection of analytes including antibody selection, conjugation of reagents and chemistries, sample preparation and handling, data analysis methodologies.
• Design and perform experiments to demonstrate feasibility and characterize performance and robustness (dynamic range, limit of detection, spike and recovery, precision, accuracy, and assay linearity) of ELISA based assays.
• Contribute to scientific literature and internal reports, documents, and communications including writing and creating abstracts, peer-reviewed journal articles, poster presentations, and marketing materials, and represent Spear Bio at conferences.
• Maintain familiarity with current technology and related literature and conduct project related information searches.
• Apply strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with demonstrated knowledge of statistical methodologies including DoE. Experience working within a cGMP/GLP and ISO regulated quality system.
• Work independently and have a strong understanding of the theory and biology behind the application and products.
• Possess strong presentation and interpersonal skills with the ability to establish collaborative working relationships and become a key contributor within the assay development, platform, and product teams.
• Excellent project management skills with the ability to manage and organize work around multiple and changing priorities.

Qualifications:

• PhD in Biochemistry, Analytical Chemistry, or related life science field with a minimum of 4+ years developing ultrasensitive blood-based protein biomarker immunoassays, ideally for neuro-diseases, directly from industry (e.g., IVD, clinical trials, contract research, or biotech) required.
• Deep understanding of protein biology.
• Deep technical experience in multiple aspects of immunoassay development, including but not limited to: protein chemistry, antibody screening, antibody conjugation, assay diluent formulation, multiplexing, preanalytical sample processing, scale-up, assay optimization and troubleshooting, Real-Time PCR, immunoassays (immunoblotting and ELISAs) and gel-based assays (SDS-PAGE and CE-SDS), multivariate data analysis, analytical validation, and clinical validation.
• Advanced understanding of ligand binding assays and diverse analytical formats and platforms including colorimetric/electro-chemiluminescence/luminescence/fluorometry-based assays and experience with typical analytical systems, e.g. MSD, Molecular Devices, Luminex, Ella, Quanterix, Octet, Biacore.
• Prior experience leading/mentoring a team of junior scientists, and providing technical, clinical, and professional development.

• Work onsite 5 days/week in Woburn, MA.

We offer competitive compensation, meaningful stock ownership, comprehensive benefits, and a great work environment. This is an opportunity to enter an innovative, high-growth startup at an early stage. We are focused on identifying candidates who have demonstrated leadership and excellence throughout their careers and are excited by the prospect of building an industry-leading company.

Spear Bio Inc. provides equal opportunity in employment to all persons. No person shall be denied equal access because of race, creed, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, or physical/mental disability.