Senior Scientist, cfDNA Assay Development & Leadership

Natera, Inc.; South San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 138,000 - 173,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus

Equity awards

401(k) match

Paid time off

Wellness benefits

Job summary

Natera, Inc. is seeking a Senior Scientist to join the assay development team within the R&D Department in California.

You will lead and support junior scientists to plan, execute, and manage scientific studies under design control in a regulated environment, advancing cfDNA assay development across products. The role requires deep molecular biology knowledge, strong scientific curiosity, and a track record in developing cfDNA assays through product lifecycles.

Qualifications

• Typically requires a university degree and a minimum of 8+ years of related experience or a MS degree and 6 years of related experience or a PhD and 4 years of related experience.
• Knowledge of high throughput NGS workflows or other genetic testing applications in clinical settings.
• Experience in developing and validating molecular assays for CLIA lab testing.
• Experience with automation of molecular workflows or assay transfer to automated platforms.
• Experience in managing projects.
• Must possess very strong interpersonal, analytical, and problem‑solving skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead technical projects and timelines as a subject matter expert and represent the assay development group in cross‑functional project teams.
• Drive planning, design, execution, and reporting of feasibility, development, verification and validation studies under design control quality system.
• Collaborate with research scientists, automation engineers, biostatisticians and data scientists to develop new molecular assays.
• Communicate and document experimental data, findings, and recommendations to R&D and other functions.
• May manage Research Associates.

Skills

NGS

Molecular assay development

Project management

Interpersonal skills

Data analysis

Python

R

Education

University degree

MS degree

PhD

Tools

Illumina sequencing platforms

JMP

Excel

Python

R

Job description

Natera, Inc. is seeking a Senior Scientist to join the assay development team within the R&D Department in California.

You will lead and support junior scientists to plan, execute, and manage scientific studies under design control in a regulated environment, advancing cfDNA assay development across products. The role requires deep molecular biology knowledge, strong scientific curiosity, and a track record in developing cfDNA assays through product lifecycles.