Sr Principal Scientist

Quanterix; Billerica (MA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

401k with employer match

Health, dental, and vision benefits

Unlimited vacation (exempt)

Tuition assistance

Onsite fitness center

Free snacks and drinks

Job summary

Quanterix is seeking a Senior Principal Scientist to lead the development of next-generation assay reagents and detection technologies at our Billerica, MA site. You will serve as a technical leader for spatial dyes, bead technologies, and bioconjugation chemistry, driving innovation from concept through commercialization while collaborating with cross-functional teams.

The role requires a PhD with extensive experience in assay development and biomarker detection technologies, along with proven

Qualifications

• PhD required in Chemistry, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Bioengineering, Analytical Chemistry, Immunology, or related field.
• 20+ years of industry experience in assay or diagnostic product development.

Responsibilities

• Lead development of next-generation assay reagents and detection technologies.
• Define scientific strategy and roadmaps for spatial dyes, beads, and conjugation chemistry.
• Drive innovation to improve sensitivity, multiplexing, and assay robustness.
• Mentor scientists and guide cross-functional product development teams.

Skills

Spatial dye technologies

Bead-based assays

Conjugation chemistry

Scientific leadership

Data interpretation

Mentoring scientists

Education

Ph.D. in Chemistry or related field

Tools

Simoa platform

Analytical instrumentation

Job description

Billerica, MA Quanterix is a global leader in ultra-sensitive biomarker detection, enabling breakthroughs in disease research, diagnostics, and drug development. Its vision is to lead the next era of precision biomarker science to power earlier detection, better decisions, and improved human health. Its mission is to make biology measurable at its most fundamental level, delivering earlier insight when it matters most. Across discovery to clinical applications, Quanterix empowers scientists and healthcare providers to improve patients’ lives through detection and understanding of disease. Its proprietary Simoa® technology delivers industry‑leading sensitivity, allowing researchers to detect and quantify biomarkers in blood and other fluids at concentrations far below traditional limits. With more than 3,400 peer‑reviewed publications, Quanterix has been a trusted partner to the scientific community for nearly two decades. In 2025, Quanterix acquired Akoya Biosciences, The Spatial Biology Company®, adding multiplexed tissue imaging with single‑cell resolution to its portfolio. Together, the combined company offers a uniquely integrated platform that connects biology across blood and tissue—advancing precision medicine from discovery to diagnostics.

Senior Principal Scientist – Billerica, MA

Quanterix is a global leader in ultra-sensitive biomarker detection, enabling breakthroughs in disease research, diagnostics, and drug development. Its vision is to lead the next era of precision biomarker science to power earlier detection, better decisions, and improved human health. Its mission is to make biology measurable at its most fundamental level, delivering earlier insight when it matters most. Across discovery to clinical applications, Quanterix empowers scientists and healthcare providers to improve patients’ lives through detection and understanding of disease. Its proprietary Simoa® technology delivers industry‑leading sensitivity, allowing researchers to detect and quantify biomarkers in blood and other fluids at concentrations far below traditional limits. With more than 3,400 peer‑reviewed publications, Quanterix has been a trusted partner to the scientific community for nearly two decades. In 2025, Quanterix acquired Akoya Biosciences, The Spatial Biology Company®, adding multiplexed tissue imaging with single‑cell resolution to its portfolio. Together, the combined company offers a uniquely integrated platform that connects biology across blood and tissue—advancing precision medicine from discovery to diagnostics.

Role Summary

We are seeking an innovative and highly accomplished Senior Principal Scientist to lead the development of next-generation assay reagents and detection technologies supporting advanced biomarker analysis platforms. This role will serve as a technical leader in the design, optimization, and commercialization of novel reagents and assay systems, with a primary focus on spatial dyes, bead technologies, and bioconjugation chemistry. The successful candidate will combine deep scientific expertise in assay development, molecular detection technologies, and conjugation chemistry with demonstrated leadership in cross‑functional product development environments. This position will drive innovation from concept through commercialization and play a critical role in expanding platform capabilities for highly sensitive multiplexed protein and biomarker detection.

What You’ll Do

Scientific Leadership

• Serve as the subject matter expert for spatial dye technologies, bead‑based assays, and conjugation chemistry across the organization.
• Define scientific strategy and technology roadmaps for next‑generation assay reagents and detection systems.
• Lead innovation efforts focused on improving assay sensitivity, specificity, multiplexing capability, and performance.
• Provide scientific leadership for complex technical investigations and root‑cause analyses.

Spatial Dye Innovation

• Lead research and development of novel spatial dye architectures and labeling approaches.
• Investigate fluorophore chemistry, signal amplification strategies, and spatially encoded detection systems.
• Develop solutions to improve multiplexing performance, signal discrimination, and assay robustness.
• Drive intellectual property generation in dye chemistry and spatial detection technologies.

Bead Technology Development

• Lead development and optimization of functionalized bead systems utilized in digital immunoassays and multiplex detection platforms.
• Develop novel bead surface chemistries and reagent architectures to enhance assay performance.
• Evaluate new bead materials, manufacturing methods, and coating strategies.
• Collaborate with manufacturing teams to ensure scalability and reproducibility of bead production processes.

Conjugation Chemistry

• Develop and optimize bioconjugation strategies involving antibodies, proteins, oligonucleotides, fluorophores, enzymes, and nanoparticles.
• Design and characterize dye‑antibody, bead‑antibody, and other biomolecular conjugates.
• Apply advanced analytical techniques to evaluate conjugate quality, stability, functionality, and performance.
• Establish best practices for conjugation process development, scale‑up, and quality control.

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS

• Ph.D. in Chemistry, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Bioengineering, Analytical Chemistry, Immunology, or related scientific discipline.
• 20+ years of industry experience in assay development, reagent development, or diagnostic product development.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Demonstrated expertise in biomarker detection technologies, including ultra‑sensitive immunoassays, spatial biomarker applications, bead‑based systems, and biomolecular conjugation chemistry.
• Proven track record translating scientific innovation into commercial products.
• Experience supporting regulated diagnostic products, including IVD, CLIA, or FDA‑regulated environments.
• Inventor on patents related to assay technologies, bioconjugation chemistry, dyes, or biomarker detection systems.
• Publication record in high‑impact scientific journals.
• Experience scaling reagent, assay, or bead manufacturing processes.
• Expertise in multiplex protein detection and spatial biology applications.

EXPECTATIONS, COMPETENCIES, SKILLS & ABILITIES

• Onsite role based at 900 Middlesex Turnpike, Billerica, MA.
• Travel up to 10–20% as needed for collaborations, conferences, and partner engagements.
• Recognized scientific thought leader who demonstrates sound judgment, intellectual curiosity, and the ability to solve complex, ambiguous technical problems.
• Ability to influence technical direction across matrixed teams through clear scientific rationale, data‑driven recommendations, and collaborative decision‑making.
• Strong experimental design, data interpretation, troubleshooting, and statistical analysis skills with the ability to translate findings into practical product‑development actions.
• Excellent written, verbal, and presentation skills, including the ability to communicate complex scientific concepts to technical, executive, commercial, and cross‑functional audiences.
• Demonstrated ability to mentor scientists, foster technical rigor, and promote a culture of scientific excellence, accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Comfortable operating with a high degree of autonomy while managing priorities, risks, and deliverables in a fast‑paced product development environment.
• Ability to work effectively in laboratory and office environments; must be able to comply with applicable safety, quality, documentation, and training requirements.

WHY YOU’LL LIKE WORKING WITH US

Our Technology

From discovery to diagnostics, Quanterix’s ultrasensitive biomarker detection is fueling breakthroughs only made possible through its unparalleled sensitivity and flexibility. Simoa® technology has delivered the gold standard for earlier biomarker detection in blood, serum or plasma, with the ability to quantify proteins that are far lower than the Level of Quantification (LoQ). Our industry‑leading precision instruments, digital immunoassay technology and CLIA‑certified Accelerator laboratory have supported research that advances disease understanding and management in neurology, oncology, immunology, cardiology, and infectious disease. Akoya Biosciences, a Quanterix company, is The Spatial Biology Company®—bringing tissue context to life through high‑resolution, single‑cell imaging. Akoya’s spatial phenotyping platforms help researchers visualize and measure how cells organize and interact within tissue to influence disease progression and therapeutic response. From discovery through clinical research, Akoya offers a full continuum of solutions, including PhenoCycler®, PhenoImager® Fusion and HT, and PhenoCode™ Panels. As part of Quanterix, Akoya complements a leading portfolio of ultra‑sensitive biomarker detection technologies, together enabling a more complete view of biology and disease across both tissue and blood.

Our Commitment To Employees

• We reward and recognize our employees by offering competitive compensation and a 401k plan with employer match, as well as competitive health, dental, and vision benefits for employees and their dependents.
• We also offer an unlimited vacation policy to all exempt employees, and a generous PTO policy for non‑exempt employees.
• All employees are eligible for equity, employee stock purchase plan, a performance bonus, and 1:1 financial counseling/planning.
• We also offer Tuition Assistance.
• We have a free, state‑of‑the‑art onsite fitness center for all employees.
• To keep you fueled up, we provide onsite employees free snacks and drinks every day!

Our values are based on: Team, Innovation, Customer and Owner. Team: Challenge assumptions, not the person. Respect diversity of thought and hold ourselves to lofty standards. Innovation: Stay curious, experiment, create and change. Customer: Prioritize and celebrate these pioneers by doing our best to deliver on commitments. Owner: Act with high integrity and in the best interest of Quanterix. Take measured risks and learn from their success and failures.

We reward and recognize our employees by offering competitive compensation and a 401k plan with employer match, as well as competitive health, dental, and vision benefits for employees and their dependents. We also offer an unlimited vacation policy to all exempt employees, and a generous PTO policy for non‑exempt employees. All employees are eligible for equity, employee stock purchase plan, a performance bonus, and 1:1 financial counseling/planning. We also offer Tuition Assistance. We have a free, state‑of‑the‑art onsite fitness center for all employees. To keep you fueled up, we provide onsite employees free snacks and drinks every day!

Quanterix is committed to a Diverse and Inclusive workplace. We strive to recruit candidates who will bring inclusive mindsets and contribute to our values.