Senior Protein Scientist, Small Molecule Therapeutics

Socket.dev; Cambridge (MA); On-site; USD 156,000 - 246,000; Full time

Job summary

Lila Sciences seeks a Senior Principal Scientist to lead protein science and structural biology in its discovery platform. You will design and engineer proteins, oversee expression/purification, and drive structural strategies to enable screening, hit validation, and structure-guided drug design.

You will partner with assay biology, chemistry, and computational teams to build in‑house capabilities, set quality standards, and mentor staff while advancing program strategy and risk management.

Qualifications

• PhD in biochemistry, structural biology, molecular biology, protein engineering, or a related discipline with 10+ years of drug discovery experience; or an MS/BS with 15+ years in protein chemistry and structural biology.
• Deep expertise in recombinant protein expression and purification across bacterial, insect, and mammalian systems.
• Demonstrated experience designing and engineering protein constructs for biochemical assays, biophysical characterization, crystallography, and/or Cryo-EM.
• Strong track record supporting small molecule drug discovery programs through high-quality protein reagents and structural biology.
• Hands‑on and strategic experience with protein purification workflows, including affinity, ion exchange, size‑exclusion, analytical characterization, and stability optimization.

Responsibilities

• Lead the protein science strategy for small molecule programs and ensure delivery of high‑quality protein reagents for screening, biophysics, and downstream validation.
• Oversee expression and purification across external partners and CROs, including vendor selection and timeline management.
• Develop a roadmap to bring recombinant protein expression/purification in‑house, including infrastructure and staffing recommendations.
• Lead construct design and protein engineering to enable stable, active, tractable reagents across target classes.
• Partner with biology, chemistry, computational chemistry, and translational teams to ensure reagents meet program needs.
• Guide outsourced X-ray crystallography activities and integrate structural insights into medicinal chemistry.

Skills

Protein expression

Protein purification

Construct design

X-ray crystallography

Cryo-EM

Cross-functional leadership

Education

PhD in biochemistry/structural biology or related

MS/BS with 15+ years in protein science

Tools

X-ray crystallography workflows

Cryo-EM workflows

Job description

Lila Sciences seeks a Senior Principal Scientist to lead protein science and structural biology in its discovery platform. You will design and engineer proteins, oversee expression/purification, and drive structural strategies to enable screening, hit validation, and structure-guided drug design.

You will partner with assay biology, chemistry, and computational teams to build in‑house capabilities, set quality standards, and mentor staff while advancing program strategy and risk management.