Senior Scientist R&D

Natera; San Carlos (CA); On-site; USD 117,000 - 146,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus

Long-term equity awards

401(k) with company match

Generous paid time off

Job summary

Natera is seeking a Senior Scientist to join its Molecular Biology Research team in California. You will plan, design, and execute laboratory research to advance liquid biopsy-based cancer detection products, with a focus on developing NGS assays and multiomic approaches.

Ideal candidates hold a PhD and have 5–8 years of industry experience or 2+ years post-doc plus 3+ years in industry, with strong data analysis and communication skills.

Qualifications

• Must have extensive experience designing, executing, analyzing data and solving problems in NGS and DNA molecular biology experiments.
• Track record of originating, developing and productizing nucleic acid and multiomic workflows.
• Strong research skills with history of innovation and scientific accomplishment.
• Excellent communication, organizational, record-keeping, planning and analytical skills.
• Demonstrated independent scientific judgment in experimental design and analysis.

Responsibilities

• Contributes to R&D planning and innovation.
• Advances nucleic acid tests including planning, feasibility testing, protocol development, optimization, and transfer to Development.
• Manages project timelines and deliverables.
• Designs and executes high-complexity experiments.
• Coordinates experiments with statistics and bioinformatics teams.
• Interacts with Operations, PM, Bioinformatics, Data Science, Engineering and Product.
• Documents progress under Quality Management System.
• Performs basic data analysis (R, JMP, Excel).

Skills

NGS design

Multiomics workflows

Data analysis

Scientific judgement

Communication

Education

Ph.D. in molecular biology/genomics/biochemistry or related

Tools

R

JMP

Excel

Job description

Department: Molecular Biology, Informatics, and Statistics

POSITION SUMMARY:

We are looking for a Senior Scientist to join our highly collaborative Molecular Biology Research team. The Senior Scientist, will plan, design, and execute laboratory research to advance Natera’s growing liquid biopsy-based early cancer detection product portfolio. For this role, we require a candidate with experience developing NGS assays, with the ideal candidate having a demonstrated track record of creatively applying multiomic approaches to oncology applications.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Contributes intellectually and creatively to research and development planning and innovation
• Advances novel nucleic acid based diagnostic tests including, planning, feasibility testing, protocol development, optimization, and transfer to Development
• Responsible for project-associated timeline and deliverable planning and management
• Thoroughly comprehends the objectives and vision of the work
• Independently develops generates and advances new ideas
• Independently designs and executes high complexity experiments
• Coordinates the execution and analysis of experiments with statistics and bioinformatics teams
• Actively interacts and communicates with interdepartmental teams such as Operations, Program Management, Bioinformatics, Data Science, Engineering, Translational Science, and Product
• Documents research progress under a Quality Management System
• Communicates progress directly with manager and colleagues.
• Performs basic data analysis (e.g. R, JMP, Excel)
• May manage research associates
• Employee must complete training relating to HIPAA/PHI privacy, General Policies and Procedure
• Compliance training and security training as soon as possible but not later than the first 30 days of hire
• Must maintain a current status on Natera training requirements
• Perform other duties as assigned

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Ph.D. in molecular biology, genomics, biochemistry or a closely related field
• Minimum of 5 - 8 years of industry experience or 2+ years post-doctoral research and 3+ years of industry experience

REQUIRED SKILLS:

• Must have extensive experience designing, executing, analyzing data and problem solving of next generation sequencing (NGS) and DNA molecular biology experiments
• Track record of originating, developing and/or productizing novel nucleic acid and multiomic workflows and tests
• Strong research skills with a history of innovation and scientific accomplishment.
• Must have excellent communication, organizational, record-keeping, planning, time management and analytical skills
• Demonstrated success in applying independent scientific judgment in experimental design and analysis

PREFERRED SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE:

• Cancer research experience is desired
• Experience with approaches such as: epigenetic/methylation analysis, target capture/enrichment, WGS, proteomics
• cfDNA experience is a significant plus
• Experience with automation is a preferred
• Skilled at writing clear plans, reports and SOPs

Compensation & Total Rewards

This range reflects a good-faith estimate of the base pay we reasonablyexpect to offer at the time of hire.Final compensation will vary based on experience, qualifications, and internal equity considerations.

This positionis also eligible for additional compensation and benefits throughNatera’s robust Total Rewards program, including:

Annual performance incentive bonus

Long-term equity awards

401(k) with company match

Generous paid time off and company holidays

Additional wellness and work-life benefits

Compensation Range

$116,800 - $146,000 USD

OUR OPPORTUNITY

Natera™ is a global leader in cell-free DNA (cfDNA) testing, dedicated to oncology, women’s health, and organ health. Our aim is to make personalized genetic testing and diagnostics part of the standard of care to protect health and enable earlier and more targeted interventions that lead to longer, healthier lives.

The Natera team consists of highly dedicated statisticians, geneticists, doctors, laboratory scientists, business professionals, software engineers and many other professionals from world-class institutions, who care deeply for our work and each other. When you join Natera, you’ll work hard and grow quickly. Working alongside the elite of the industry, you’ll be stretched and challenged, and take pride in being part of a company that is changing the landscape of genetic disease management.

WHAT WE OFFER

Competitive Benefits - Employee benefits include comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life and disability plans for eligible employees and their dependents. Additionally, Natera employees and their immediate families receive free testing in addition to fertility care benefits. Other benefits include pregnancy and baby bonding leave, 401k benefits, commuter benefits and much more. We also offer a generous employee referral program!

Natera is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to ensuring a diverse and inclusive workplace environment, and welcome people of different backgrounds, experiences, abilities and perspectives. Inclusive collaboration benefits our employees, our community and our patients, and is critical to our mission of changing the management of disease worldwide.

All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply, and will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, age, veteran status, disability or any other legally protected status. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with applicable laws.

If you are based in California, we encourage you to read this important information for California residents.

Please be advised that Natera will reach out to candidates with a @ natera.com email domain ONLY. Email communications from all other domain names are not from Natera or its employees and are fraudulent. Natera does not request interviews via text messages and does not ask for personal information until a candidate has engaged with the company and has spoken to a recruiter and the hiring team. Natera takes cyber crimes serious, and will collaborate with law enforcement authorities to prosecute any related cyber crimes.

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey.Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiringprocess or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in aconfidential file.

As set forth in Natera’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection.As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measurethe effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categoriesis as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.