Lead Therapeutic Discovery Scientist

Capable Labs; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity options

Wellness budget

Healthcare coverage

Visa sponsorship

Daily team dinners

HSA/401K access

Job summary

Capable Labs in San Francisco leads groundbreaking therapeutic programs from concept to early validation. You will identify bold opportunities, define targets and modalities, and manage budgets, timelines, and kill criteria while staying close to experiments and data.

You will own program progress, build collaborations, and execute with a high-agency, rigorous approach to deliver transformative health outcomes.

Qualifications

• Originating and advancing scientific or therapeutic programs with concrete outcomes.
• Ideally contributed to a drug candidate advancing into clinical trials or market.
• Strong scientific judgment and ability to turn promising mechanisms into executable programs.
• Breadth to evaluate targets, modalities, assays, biomarkers, model systems, translational paths, and risks.
• High-agency, precise, skeptical, execution-oriented working style.
• Ability to lead interdisciplinary work and stay close to experiments and data.

Responsibilities

• Originate and lead therapeutic programs from concept through early validation.
• Critically evaluate literature, mechanisms, phenotypes, targets, and ideas.
• Define targets, modalities, assays, biomarkers, budgets, timelines, kill criteria.
• Select the right modality for each program (RNA, small molecules, peptides, biologics-adjacent).
• Execute with the scientific team through design, sourcing, assay development, in vitro and in vivo testing.
• Build capabilities by identifying collaborators, advisors, partners, and models.
• Own program progress and resource decisions while engaging with data and tradeoffs.

Skills

Scientific judgment

Program ownership

Cross-functional collaboration

Molecular biology

Therapeutics development

Job description

Capable Labs in San Francisco leads groundbreaking therapeutic programs from concept to early validation. You will identify bold opportunities, define targets and modalities, and manage budgets, timelines, and kill criteria while staying close to experiments and data.

You will own program progress, build collaborations, and execute with a high-agency, rigorous approach to deliver transformative health outcomes.