Lead Scientist, Antibody Engineering & Platform Development

Grifols; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 165,000 - 205,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Life insurance

Paid time off

Paid holidays

401(k) match

Tuition reimbursement

Job summary

Grifols, a global healthcare leader, seeks a Principal Scientist to direct protein engineering and molecular biology within the Technology Development team in California. This role leads early‑stage research on recombinant antibodies, mentors staff, and collaborates across internal groups and external vendors.

Requires a PhD (or equivalent) with extensive industry experience, publications, and demonstrated leadership.

Qualifications

• PhD or higher in chemistry, biology, or engineering with strong publications.
• Extensive antibody engineering and expression/purification experience.
• Proven ability to mentor staff and manage cross-functional teams.
• Experience coordinating CROs and external collaborations is preferred.
• Strong technical writing skills for SOPs and manuscripts.
• Ability to design experiments and manage timelines in teams.
• Experience with synthetic biology and high‑throughput methods.
• Excellent communication across disciplines and management.

Responsibilities

• Design and manage experiments for next‑gen antibody therapeutics.
• Provide technical leadership for complex projects and assays.
• Mentor junior staff and manage potential team expansion.
• Coordinate external vendors and CRO collaborations.
• Develop new assays and technologies for the platform.
• Communicate results to internal and external stakeholders.
• Align goals, timelines and resources across programs.
• Interpret complex data for presentations and decisions.
• Stay current with cutting‑edge tools and methods.

Skills

Antibody engineering

Protein expression

Purification

Mammalian synthetic biology

Single-cell assays

Bioinformatics

Automation

DNA cloning

Leadership

Education

PhD in chemical/biological engineering

8+ years industry and/or Post‑PhD

MS with 12+ years industry

Bachelors with 15+ years industry

Publications and conferences

Mentoring direct reports

CROs and external collaborations

Technical writing (SOPs, manuscripts)

Interdisciplinary communication

Advanced problem solving

Job description

Grifols, a global healthcare leader, seeks a Principal Scientist to direct protein engineering and molecular biology within the Technology Development team in California. This role leads early‑stage research on recombinant antibodies, mentors staff, and collaborates across internal groups and external vendors.

Requires a PhD (or equivalent) with extensive industry experience, publications, and demonstrated leadership.