Senior Scientist, High-Throughput Biology

xairatherapeutics; South San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Xaira Therapeutics in California is seeking a Senior Scientist on a 9-month contract to lead design and execution of innovative experiments that accelerate drug discovery, applying functional genomics and synthetic biology to develop high-throughput screening platforms.

You will mentor junior scientists, collaborate with drug discovery, computational biology, and AI-based protein design teams, and drive data quality, reproducibility, and timely delivery of high-impact results.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Immunology, Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, Biochemistry, Functional Genomics, or a related field, with 4+ years of postdoctoral or industry experience.
• Proficiency with molecular biology techniques, complex library construction, flow cytometry, and cell line engineering.
• Experience with pooled screening and NGS-based readouts, including library preparation and sequencing QC.
• Experience with high-throughput antibody display technologies, including yeast, phage, or mammalian display, is a plus.
• Familiarity with single-cell genomics workflows (e.g., scRNA-seq, barcoded or multiplexed assays) is a plus.
• Demonstrated ability to troubleshoot complex experimental issues independently and to guide others through them.
• Strong data analysis capabilities, including proficiency with visualization and statistical software (e.g., GraphPad Prism, R, Python).
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present scientific findings clearly and concisely to diverse audiences.
• Collaborative team player who can work effectively across interdisciplinary teams and drive cross-functional projects.
• Track record of scientific contributions, such as publications, patents, or internal technology development.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design, implementation, and optimization of biochemical, molecular, and cell-based assays to support high-throughput screening platform development.
• Scale high-throughput screening strategies for binder discovery in mammalian systems.
• Evaluate and pilot emerging technologies and experimental workflows to strengthen discovery capabilities, and make recommendations on their adoption.
• Develop and optimize automated workflows, ensuring data quality, reproducibility, and process efficiency.
• Partner with drug discovery, computational biology, and AI-based protein design teams to analyze, interpret, and share insights from screening data.
• Independently manage multiple projects, ensuring timely delivery of high-quality data and alignment with team goals.
• Maintain accurate records of experiments, protocols, and findings, and contribute to internal and external scientific presentations.

Skills

Molecular biology techniques

Flow cytometry

Cell line engineering

Pooled screening

NGS-based readouts

High-throughput antibody display

Single-cell genomics workflows

Excellent written and verbal comms

Collaborative team player

Troubleshooting complex experiments

Education

Ph.D. in Immunology / Molecular Biology / Cell Biology / Biochemistry / Functional Genomics

Tools

GraphPad Prism

R

Python

Job description

Xaira Therapeutics in California is seeking a Senior Scientist on a 9-month contract to lead design and execution of innovative experiments that accelerate drug discovery, applying functional genomics and synthetic biology to develop high-throughput screening platforms.

You will mentor junior scientists, collaborate with drug discovery, computational biology, and AI-based protein design teams, and drive data quality, reproducibility, and timely delivery of high-impact results.