Senior Scientist - LNP Formulations & Ionizable Lipids

Flagship Pioneering, Inc.; Cambridge (MA); On-site; USD 126,000 - 182,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Frontline lipid/LNP innovation

Collaborative, science-driven culture

Competitive compensation & benefits

Job summary

Serif Biomedicines in Cambridge, MA seeks a highly motivated Senior Scientist II with deep lipid chemistry expertise to drive design of ionizable lipids and next-generation LNP formulations for nucleic acid delivery.

The role emphasizes independent operation, cross-functional program direction, and mentorship of junior scientists, with opportunities to advance platform capabilities and contribute to scientific strategy.

Qualifications

• PhD in Organic Chemistry or related field with 5+ years of industry experience; or MS with 8+ years of experience.
• Strong background in multi-step organic synthesis, purification and structural characterization, ideally of lipids, amphiphiles or other delivery materials.
• Hands-on experience with LNP formulation (e.g., microfluidic mixing, nanoprecipitation) and understanding of how lipid structure drives potency, stability and tolerability.
• Experience designing and running formulation screens with characterization by DLS, encapsulation assays and pKa determination.
• Experience with nucleic acid delivery (mRNA, DNA, siRNA) preferred.
• Familiarity with lipid analytics (NMR, LC-MS, HPLC-CAD/ELSD) and data-driven lipid design is a plus.
• Demonstrated ability to design experiments, analyze data, and communicate findings; mentoring junior scientists.

Responsibilities

• Design and synthesize novel ionizable lipids and optimize LNP formulations for potency and tolerability.
• Lead design of LNP molar compositions, optimizing lipid ratios and excipients.
• Prepare LNP formulations at small scale to enable high-throughput screening.
• Plan and conduct formulation screening studies and build structure–property relationships.
• Characterize lipids and LNPs using NMR, LC-MS, HPLC CAD/ELSD, DLS, and pKa assays.
• Collaborate with biology and process development to evaluate lead formulations in vitro and in vivo.
• Mentor junior scientists and contribute to the scientific strategy and IP position.

Skills

Lipid chemistry

LNP formulation

Organic synthesis

Nucleic acid delivery

Mentoring

Education

PhD in Organic Chemistry

Tools

NMR

LC-MS

HPLC-CAD/ELSD

DLS

Job description

Serif Biomedicines in Cambridge, MA seeks a highly motivated Senior Scientist II with deep lipid chemistry expertise to drive design of ionizable lipids and next-generation LNP formulations for nucleic acid delivery.

The role emphasizes independent operation, cross-functional program direction, and mentorship of junior scientists, with opportunities to advance platform capabilities and contribute to scientific strategy.