Associate Director, High-Throughput Assay Development

The University of Texas Medical Branch; Galveston (TX); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Texas Medical Branch's Sealy Institute for Drug Discovery seeks an Associate Director of Assay Development to lead a state‑of‑the‑art HTS and automation facility in designing, optimizing, and implementing high‑quality biochemical and cellular assays.

Reporting to senior leadership, you will collaborate with cross‑functional teams to drive assay development, contribute to target validation, and help identify lead compounds for further development in a fast‑paced research

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Pharmacology, or related field with 6+ years of assay development experience.
• Extensive experience in biochemical and cell-based high-throughput screening and automated workflows.
• Strong data analysis skills and familiarity with assay platforms and detection technologies.

Responsibilities

• Lead design, optimization, and validation of biochemical and cellular assays for drug discovery.
• Manage automation workflows and ensure biosafety within BSL-2 environments.
• Maintain data quality control standards.
• Oversee instrument maintenance and operations.
• Collaborate with project teams to define assay requirements and performance criteria.
• Implement technologies to enhance sensitivity, specificity, and robustness.
• Manage assay development projects, timelines, resources, and budgets.
• Evaluate new assay platforms and automation technologies to improve throughput.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory guidelines and industry standards.
• Provide technical guidance to staff on assay strategies and troubleshooting.
• Stay abreast of trends and best practices in assay development.
• Foster collaboration and scientific excellence within the assay development team.

Skills

Assay design

Assay optimization

Data analysis

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication

Drug discovery knowledge

Education

Ph.D. in Molecular Biology/Biochemistry/Pharmacology or related field

Tools

Assay platforms

Automation software

Job description

The University of Texas Medical Branch's Sealy Institute for Drug Discovery seeks an Associate Director of Assay Development to lead a state‑of‑the‑art HTS and automation facility in designing, optimizing, and implementing high‑quality biochemical and cellular assays.

Reporting to senior leadership, you will collaborate with cross‑functional teams to drive assay development, contribute to target validation, and help identify lead compounds for further development in a fast‑paced research