Associate Scientist - Protein Sciences

Gavroche Group; South San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 100,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Annual bonus

Comprehensive benefits

Job summary

Septerna, a South San Francisco biotech company, seeks a hands-on cell culture scientist to advance its Native Complex platform. You will work with Expi293 suspension lines, perform transfections, and help produce and characterize recombinant proteins for structural biology and drug discovery.

The role emphasizes collaboration, rigorous data documentation, and tight timelines within a dynamic team. Compensation includes competitive salary, stock options, and annual bonus.

Qualifications

• BS/MS with a minimum of 4+ years of hands-on experience in biotech/pharma.
• 1+ years experience in high-quality mammalian cell culture of suspension lines (HEK293)
• Experience in transient transfection, cell line maintenance, cell counting, stable pool selection, and cryopreservation
• Desirable experience with ELISA and basic protein techniques (SDS-PAGE, Nanodrop, DSF)
• Strong organization and ability to prioritize multiple projects in a team setting
• Clear verbal and written communication skills

Responsibilities

• Perform hands-on cell culture to enable Septerna’s Native Complex platform.
• Maintain Expi293 suspension lines and other insect lines as needed.
• Carry out transient transfections, stable pool selection, and cryopreservation of Expi293 lines.
• Scale up cell culture for production of recombinant proteins.
• Assist with protein purification and related assays (ELISA, SDS-PAGE, DSF).
• Collaborate with Discovery Biology to prioritize timelines for cell culture requests.
• Maintain thorough lab notebooks and data records.

Skills

Cell culture

Transfection

Team collaboration

Communication

Data analysis

Education

BS or MS in a relevant field

Tools

Expi293 system

ELISA

SDS-PAGE

Nanodrop

DSF

Job description

Septerna is a biotechnology company based in South San Francisco, CA on a mission to develop life-changing medicines for patients with the vision to become the industry-leading G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR)-focused drug discovery company. The company’s Native Complex Platform™ recapitulates GPCRs with their native structure, function, and dynamics outside of the cellular context. This approach enables novel access to modern structural and screening technologies used in industrial-scale drug discovery for the entire class of GPCRs. Septerna has an emerging pipeline of GPCR-targeted small molecule programs, many in the Endocrinology space, with potential for growth to target many GPCRs that have been undruggable and unexploited to date.

We are excited to expand our multidisciplinary team of individuals focused on creating revolutionary medicines to address the unmet needs of patients. At Septerna we strive to embrace diversity of thought, expertise, and background through collaboration. To join our ambitious team, be prepared to bring your real self to work every day; grow and learn from a talented team of drug hunters, scientists, and business professionals; and contribute your passion, creativity, and energy to accomplish our mission. We share a fearless pursuit of ground-breaking innovations and cultivate an environment where our employees succeed by learning from each other and working as a team.

We are committed to the development of meaningful therapeutics for patients with indications of high unmet need. This is a tremendous opportunity to work with talented individuals on the frontlines of therapeutic discovery and development. You will directly help move therapies through preclinical research, positioning them for success in the clinic. The successful candidate will add their passion, unique talents, and expertise to a dynamic team motivated to discover new disease-modifying therapeutics for patients in a fast-paced environment.

For more information see: www.septerna.com.

About The Role

We are seeking passionate and creative individuals who want to contribute to Septerna’s mission to utilize innovative drug discovery technologies for GPCR targets. The ideal candidate will have experience in eukaryotic cell culture of suspension-based cell lines including HEK293, including cell line maintenance, transfection, and protein expression. The chosen candidate will be working in a collaborative team contributing to improvements in protein expression and purification to support production and characterization of proteins for use in structural biology, biophysics, and small molecule drug discovery. This position offers the unique opportunity to join an innovative well‑funded biotechnology company and to contribute to its long‑term success.

The position is based in South San Francisco, CA. Title and compensation commensurate with experience.

Responsibilities

• Perform as a hands-on cell culturist to help fully enable Septerna’s Native Complex™
• Carry out continuous cell line maintenance primarily on Expi293 suspension cell lines, but also of insect cell lines when required.
• Perform transient transfections, stable pool selection, and cell line cryopreservation of Expi293 cell lines.
• Carry out small- and large-scale cell culture for production of recombinant proteins
• Assist when needed with protein purification and protein-related assay technologies including ELISAs, SDS-PAGE, and DSF.
• Work collaboratively with Discovery Biology teams in ensuring proper prioritization and timelines of cell culture requests.
• Laboratory notebooking, data analysis and documentation.

Qualifications

• BS/MS with a minimum of 4+ years of hands‑on relevant experience in a biotechnology or pharmaceutical setting.
• 1+ years demonstrated expertise in high-quality mammalian cell culture of suspension cell lines including HEK293, preferably using the Expi293 system.
• Experience in transient transfection, cell line maintenance, cell counting, stable pool selection, and cell cryopreservation.
• Prior experience with ELISA assays and basic protein techniques (SDS-PAGE, Nanodrop, DSF) is desirable.
• Ability to organize multiple projects to ensure delivery of reagents with appropriate prioritization and timelines
• Demonstrated experience working collaboratively in a team‑oriented environment
• Clear and effective verbal and written communication skills

The anticipated salary range for candidates who will work in South San Francisco, CA is $100,000 - $110,000. Individual pay may vary based on additional factors, including, and without limitation, job-related skills, experience, work location and relevant education or training. Septerna's compensation package also includes benefits, stock options, and annual target bonus for full-time positions.

We are an Equal Opportunity employer and will consider all qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, or disability status.

Septerna participates in the E-Verify program.

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