Scientist - Translational Immunology

Merge Labs; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Merge Labs is seeking an Immunologist in San Francisco to design, build, and validate immune strategies for durable tolerance to novel proteins in brain-computer interfaces.

You will characterize immune responses, scale high-throughput assays, and collaborate with computational and protein engineering teams to advance immune-tolerant molecular components. The role requires rigorous experimental work and cross-disciplinary collaboration.

Qualifications

• PhD in Immunology, Bioengineering or related field.
• Experience leading end-to-end immune characterization studies.
• Proficient in designing and interpreting in vitro and in vivo experiments.

Responsibilities

• Characterize the immunogenicity of engineered proteins, establishing quantitative readouts and benchmarks for immune compatibility in relevant in vitro and in vivo experimental models.
• Scale high-throughput immune characterization assays and workflows to enable rapid hypothesis testing and iteration.
• Collaborate with our computational and protein engineering teams to design and execute strategies to enhance immunological tolerance to molecular components of next-generation brain-computer interfaces to improve human compatibility.
• Drive technical ownership of projects from concept to execution, including experimental planning, prioritization, documentation, and clear communication of results.

Skills

Experimental design

In vitro/in vivo assays

Quantitative reasoning

Cross-disciplinary collaboration

Education

PhD in Immunology or Bioengineering

Job description

Merge Labs is a frontier research lab with the mission of bridging biological and artificial intelligence to maximize human ability, agency and experience. We’re pursuing this goal by developingfundamentally new approaches to brain-computer interfaces that interact with the brain at high bandwidth, integrate with advanced AI, and are ultimately safe and accessible for anyone to use.

About the team:

Our Bio team designs, builds, and characterizes the biotechnologies that form the foundation of next-generation brain-computer interfaces. We combine molecular engineering, synthetic biology, neuroscience and advanced physical methods such as ultrasound to establish less invasive, high-bandwidth connections with neurons. The Bio team develops our core molecular technologies, validates their performance in vitro and in vivo, and demonstrates their advanced capabilities in animal models. We build custom experimental setups and pipelines and collaborate closely with engineers and data scientists. We work across disciplines to come up with creative ideas and solve some of the most challenging problems in biotechnology.

About the role:

As an Immunologist, you will design, build, and validate biological strategies to establish durable immune tolerance to novel proteins involved in developing less invasive brain-computer interfaces. You will apply your expertise to characterize immune responses and develop strategies that promote immunological tolerance. Your work will establish the immunological foundation for next-generation molecular brain-computer interfaces.

In this role, you will:

• Characterize the immunogenicity of engineered proteins, establishing quantitative readouts and benchmarks for immune compatibility in relevant in vitro and in vivo experimental models.
• Scale high-throughput immune characterization assays and workflows to enable rapid hypothesis testing and iteration.
• Collaborate with our computational and protein engineering teams to design and execute strategies to enhance immunological tolerance to molecular components of next-generation brain-computer interfaces to improve human compatibility.
• Drive technical ownership of projects from concept to execution, including experimental planning, prioritization, documentation, and clear communication of results.

You might thrive in this role if you have:

• Have a PhD in Immunology, Bioengineering or a related field, or have equivalent experience leading research projects end-to-end.
• Are proficient in designing, executing, and interpreting in vitro and in vivo experiments that interrogate immune responses, with strong experimental rigor and quantitative reasoning.
• Are comfortable contributing to the design and evaluation of innovative solutions aimed at promoting immune tolerance.
• Think mechanistically: you are motivated by understanding how things work, not just that they work.
• Feel joy in collaboration and communicate naturally with experts across disciplines.
• Are energized by 0->1 innovations and always on the lookout for creative ways to do better.
• Want to be part of a fast-paced team working on frontier scientific and technical problems.

Merge Labs does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, family status, ancestry, citizenship, U.S. military (state and federal) and veteran status, or any other legally protected status. It is our intention that all applicants be given equal opportunity and that selection decisions are based on job related factors. We are an equal opportunity employer.

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities, and requests can be made by emailing [e-mail].