Associate Scientist/Scientist I, Molecular Function

Profluent; Emeryville (CA); On-site; USD 132,000 - 167,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity participation

401(k) with employer match

Generous PTO

Job summary

Profluent is assembling a team to scale its discovery engines for AI-driven protein design. This bench-focused role leads phage display campaigns, builds high-throughput platforms to measure protein-protein interactions, and collaborates with ML, protein design, automation, and bioinformatics teams to generate model-ready data outputs.

You will design and optimize campaigns, ensure QC, and contribute to assay development and data interpretation in a fast-growing, equity-backed biotech startup.

Qualifications

• MS (3+ years industry experience) or PhD in Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Protein Engineering, Biophysics, Immunology, or related discipline.
• Deep hands-on experience with phage display and antibody discovery is required.
• Strong molecular biology skills for library construction and QC.

Responsibilities

• Build the founding high-throughput platforms for identifying and measuring protein-protein interactions.
• Lead phage display campaigns end-to-end, from library construction through panning, NGS, and hit validation.
• Design and troubleshoot selection strategies, including antigen selection, library QC, and stringency selections.
• Plan campaigns with ML and protein design scientists and define data requirements for model training.

Skills

Phage display

Antibody discovery

Molecular biology

NGS data analysis

Biochemistry

Education

MS or PhD in molecular biology or related field

Tools

NGS analysis software

LIMS

Automation platforms

Job description

Profluent is the frontier AI lab for biology. Profluent builds powerful foundation models for all of life's molecules, unlocking solutions that transform medicine, agriculture, and beyond. Founded in 2022 and headquartered in Emeryville, CA, Profluent is backed by leading investors including Altimeter Capital, Bezos Expeditions, Spark Capital, Insight Partners, Air Street Capital, AIX Ventures, and Convergent Ventures and has raised over $150M to date.

The Role

Profluent is scaling the discovery engines that supply data for AI-driven antibody and protein design. We're hiring an experienced protein engineer to lead display campaigns and build high-throughput platforms for measuring protein-protein interactions (PPI) at scale.

This is primarily a bench role. You'll run your own campaigns, build and validate assays, and set the controls and QC that turn raw screening output into model-ready datasets, working closely with ML, protein design, automation, and bioinformatics colleagues.

Responsibilities

• Build the founding high-throughput platforms for identifying and measuring protein-protein interactions.
• Lead phage display campaigns end-to-end, from library construction through panning, NGS, and hit validation.
• Design and troubleshoot selection strategies, including antigen selection, library QC, and stringency selections.
• Plan campaigns with ML and protein design scientists (targets, assays, readouts) and define what makes binding data fit for model training and evaluation.

Qualifications

• MS (3 + years industry experience) or PhD in (0- 2 years industry experience), Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Protein Engineering, Biophysics, Immunology, or a related discipline.
• Deep hands-on experience with phage display and antibody discovery (required).
• Strong molecular biology skills for library construction.
• Solid understanding of NGS-based screening and how to turn sequencing data into quantitative measurements.
• Strong analytical and troubleshooting skills, with careful attention to detail and record-keeping.

Preferences

• Experience in therapeutic antibody optimization: affinity maturation, developability, and format engineering.
• Experience in measuring binding kinetics and affinity by SPR or BLI/Octet, and epitope mapping.
• Familiarity with other display systems (yeast, mammalian, ribosome, or mRNA).
• Familiarity with lab automation platforms such as Hamilton or Tecan.
• Moving a new assay or platform into routine use; familiarity with LIMS and data/metadata schemas.

What We Offer

• High-growth opportunity with meaningful impact on the future of protein design
• Competitive compensation package with equity participation
• 401(k) with a strong employer match
• Generous PTO policy and commitment to work-life balance
• Professional development opportunities in a cutting-edge field at the intersection of AI and biology

Profluent Bio, Inc is an equal opportunity employer promoting diversity and inclusion in the workspace. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, marital status, age, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical conditions, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender (including gender identity and gender expression), sex (which includes pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding), genetic information, taking or requesting statutorily protected leave, or any other basis protected by law.

Hiring Salary Range

$132,000 - $167,000 USD