Scientific Operations Principal

Cellbio Scientific; Union City (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Cellbio Scientific in Union City, CA seeks an experienced Scientific Operations Principal to lead histopathology, translational biomarker programs, and digital pathology initiatives.

You will guide small cross-functional teams, develop SOPs, ensure quality, and provide scientific guidance to client projects, with a focus on image analysis using Visiopharm and related platforms.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Pathology or related field required.
• 3+ years in histopathology or translational biomarker research.
• Ability to perform literature searches and translate findings.
• Strong knowledge of tissue-based assays and biomarker analysis.
• Experience leading scientific projects and cross-functional teams.
• Excellent scientific communication and stakeholder management.

Responsibilities

• Provide scientific leadership across histopathology and biomarker programs.
• Answer scientific questions using literature and data.
• Design and monitor execution of research programs.
• Interpret results and communicate recommendations.
• Coordinate project execution, timelines, and resources.
• Support quality systems and SOPs.
• Evaluate emerging digital pathology technologies.

Skills

Histopathology

Biomarker research

Tissue-based assays

Scientific communication

Project coordination

Stakeholder management

Literature review

Team leadership

Customer-facing collaboration

Education

PhD in Pathology or related field

Tools

Visiopharm

Job description

Position Summary

The Scientific Operations Principal serves as a senior scientific and operational leader across histopathology, translational biomarker, digital pathology, and related project activities. Scientific responsibilities are core accountabilities of the role, including answering scientific questions, conducting literature research, participating in client project discussions, and providing scientific and technical guidance. The role leads small cross-functional teams through expertise and coordination but does not hold formal performance-review responsibility at this stage. As the role evolves, responsibilities may expand to include ownership of team schedules and budgets.

Key Responsibilities

Scientific Leadership & Translational Biomarker Support

• Provide scientific leadership across histopathology, translational biomarker, and tissue-based research workflows, including assay development, validation, scientific interpretation, and process optimization.

• Answer scientific questions from internal teams and customers by applying subject-matter expertise, project context, and relevant scientific evidence.

• Conduct targeted literature searches and synthesize published findings to support study design, troubleshooting, scientific recommendations, and customer discussions.

• Collaborate with internal scientific teams and customers to design, plan, and monitor execution of histopathology, biomarker, and tissue-based research programs.

• Interpret study results, integrate scientific literature where relevant, and provide clear scientific recommendations to project teams and customers.

Digital Pathology & Image Analysis

• Apply digital pathology, whole-slide imaging, image-management platforms, and quantitative image-analysis tools to support scientific interpretation and project execution.

• Develop, optimize, or support image-analysis workflows using Visiopharm or comparable digital pathology platforms, as appropriate to project needs.

• Perform or oversee quantitative tissue analysis, biomarker scoring, cell phenotyping, and spatial tissue assessments as required by assigned programs.

• Evaluate emerging digital pathology and AI-assisted image-analysis technologies and recommend appropriate scientific or operational applications.

• Interpret digital pathology and image-analysis results and communicate findings through technical reports, internal reviews, and customer presentations.

• Use image-analysis outputs to support scientific conclusions, project decisions, and technical recommendations.

Scientific Operations & Quality

• Coordinate scientific project execution, priorities, timelines, resource needs, and cross-functional handoffs within the assigned scope.

• Develop, maintain, and improve SOPs, quality systems, operational controls, and scientific best practices that support consistent project delivery.

• Monitor operational and quality metrics and implement improvements that enhance scientific quality, efficiency, consistency, and turnaround.

• Support equipment, vendor, and laboratory infrastructure needs when required, while maintaining scientific and technical responsibilities as the primary focus of the role.

• Support compliance with applicable CAP, CLIA, GLP, or other regulated laboratory requirements, as relevant to the function.

Team Leadership & Project Coordination

• Provide scientific leadership, coaching, and technical direction to small cross-functional teams and team leads supporting assigned projects or programs.

• Set priorities, clarify expectations, facilitate scientific decision-making, and support effective workload and resource coordination across the team.

• Lead through subject-matter expertise, influence, and project coordination; formal performance reviews are not part of the current role scope.

• Support hiring, onboarding, technical development, and team effectiveness as needed. As the role evolves, responsibilities may expand to include ownership of team schedules and budgets.

Client Scientific & Technical Support

• Serve as a primary scientific and technical resource for customers, collaborators, and internal stakeholders.

• Participate actively in customer project discussions, study design, technical scoping, and project-planning conversations.

• Answer customer scientific questions, explain study approaches and findings, and present scientific recommendations and project updates clearly.

• Provide scientific and technical support as a primary responsibility, including troubleshooting, literature-based guidance, and project-specific scientific consultation.

Qualifications

Required

• Ph.D. in Pathology, Biomedical Sciences, Biology, Bioengineering, or a related field.

• 3+ years of experience in histopathology, translational biomarker research, or closely related tissue-based translational research.

• Demonstrated ability to conduct scientific literature searches, critically evaluate published evidence, and translate findings into practical scientific recommendations.

• Strong knowledge of tissue-based assays, pathology techniques, biomarker analysis, and scientific interpretation of histopathology data.

• Demonstrated experience leading scientific projects or small cross-functional teams through technical guidance, influence, and project coordination.

• Excellent scientific communication, project-management, and stakeholder-management skills, including the ability to participate effectively in customer-facing scientific discussions and technical support.

Preferred

• Experience with digital pathology, whole-slide imaging, image analysis, Visiopharm, or comparable platforms.

• Experience in biotechnology, pharmaceutical, CRO, or translational research environments.

• Expertise in immunohistochemistry (IHC), immunofluorescence (IF), multiplex imaging, or spatial biology.

• Experience evaluating or implementing AI/ML-assisted image-analysis solutions.

• Familiarity with CAP, CLIA, GLP, or other regulated laboratory environments.

• Experience supporting proposal development, study design, or other customer-facing scientific activities.