Scientist/Senior Scientist, Applications Development

Themis Bios; Pleasanton (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Themis Bios in Pleasanton, CA is seeking a Senior Scientist for Applications Development to own the biology behind our single-cell RNA-seq platform. You will grow cells, develop robust sample prep, and design perturbation studies that translate into scalable workflows customers can run.

This hands-on role spans cell culture, assay development, data interpretation with computational colleagues, and cross-functional collaboration to turn experimental results into product-ready protocols.

Qualifications

• PhD in cell biology, stem cell biology, molecular biology, bioengineering, or a related field - or an MS with equivalent hands-on industry experience.
• Hands-on experience with mammalian cell culture and 3D/organoid systems.
• Experience preparing single-cell samples and scRNA-seq workflows.
• Experience designing controlled experiments with proper controls and QC metrics.
• Comfort working with scRNA-seq data and collaborating with computational colleagues.

Responsibilities

• Establish and maintain 2D and 3D culture systems, including iPSC-derived cell types and organoids, with documented quality.
• Develop and run sample prep for single-cell workflows from cells, organoids, and tissue, optimized for compatibility with the platform.
• Design, execute, and analyze perturbation experiments using drugs across dose and time with single-cell RNA-seq readouts.
• Turn working experiments into robust, transferable protocols with defined controls and QC metrics.
• Partner with computational colleagues to analyze scRNA-seq results and connect readouts to biology and experimental design.
• Collaborate with platform, chemistry, and product teams to translate results into reproducible workflows.

Skills

Mammalian cell culture

Single-cell RNA-seq

Experimental design

Data interpretation

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

PhD in cell biology or related field

Tools

Python

R

Seurat/Scanpy

Job description

Themis Bios is building the measurement layer for modern biology. Our single-cell RNA-seq technology is designed to make transcriptomic readouts routine, quantitative, and scalable - so scientists can ask harder questions and trust the answers.

We are looking for a Senior Scientist to join Applications Development. You will own the biology that our technology runs on: growing the right cells, turning living systems into single-cell samples that read cleanly, and designing perturbation studies that show what our platform can see. This is hands-on lab work with a clear line to product - the assays and protocols you develop become the workflows our customers use.

You will work across cell culture, sample preparation, and experimental design, and you will see your experiments through from plating to data. If you like biology that has to be reproducible, and you want your bench work to shape a product, this is that seat.

What You'll Do:

• Cell culture. Establish and maintain 2D and 3D culture systems, including iPSC-derived cell types and organoids - differentiation, media preparation, passaging, expansion, and cryopreservation - to consistent, documented quality.
• Sample preparation. Develop and run sample prep for single-cell workflows from cells, organoids, and tissue - dissociation, viability and debris management, and input QC - optimized for compatibility with the Themis scRNA-seq technology.
• Perturbation studies. Design, execute, and analyze perturbation experiments using drugs and other molecules across dose and time, with single-cell RNA-seq readouts, from hypothesis and layout through to interpretation.
• Assay development. Turn working experiments into robust, transferable protocols - defining controls, acceptance criteria, and QC metrics that hold up across operators and sample types.
• Data and interpretation. Partner with computational colleagues to analyze scRNA-seq results, connect readouts back to biology and experimental design, and use what you learn to improve the next round.
• Cross-functional work. Collaborate with platform, chemistry, and product teams to translate application results into workflows customers can run, and document methods clearly enough that others can reproduce them.
• Rigor and record-keeping. Keep meticulous records, present findings honestly - including what didn't work - and help set the standard for how the team runs and reports experiments.

What You'll Bring

• PhD in cell biology, stem cell biology, molecular biology, bioengineering, or a related field - or an MS with equivalent hands-on industry experience.
• Demonstrated expertise in mammalian cell culture, including iPSC maintenance and differentiation and 3D / organoid culture systems.
• Hands-on experience preparing single-cell samples - dissociation of cells, organoids, and/or tissue into high-quality single-cell or single-nucleus suspensions.
• Direct experience with single-cell RNA-seq workflows, from sample input through library preparation, and familiarity with common platforms.
• Experience designing and executing controlled experiments - dose-response, time course, and appropriate controls - and interpreting the results.
• Comfort working with scRNA-seq data alongside computational colleagues, and enough fluency to reason about QC metrics and results.
• Meticulous experimental technique, clear scientific writing, and the judgment to know when a result is real.

Nice to Have

• Experience with perturbation-based or high-content screening (e.g. Perturb-seq or drug-response profiling) at single-cell resolution.
• Working knowledge of Python or R for exploring single-cell data (e.g. Scanpy, Seurat).
• Experience with tissue handling and primary cell isolation, or with automation and liquid handling for sample prep.
• Prior work in an applications, assay development, or field-application role at a genomics or single-cell company.
• Familiarity with CRISPR-based perturbation, cell line engineering, or multiplexing / cell-hashing strategies.

Who Thrives Here

Themis is rigorous, restrained, and confident. We value people who care about getting the biology right and are candid about what the data show. The scientists who do well here tend to share a few traits:

• Ownership. You take a problem from question to answer and hold the standard for quality along the way.
• Rigor over rhetoric. You let the data lead, design clean experiments, and are honest about limitations and negative results.
• Craft at the bench. You are exacting with technique and reproducibility, because a product depends on it.
• Collaboration. You work well across wet-lab and computational teams and communicate clearly enough that others can build on your work.
• Adaptability. You are comfortable in an early, fast-moving environment where priorities shift and the map is still being drawn.