Job Title: Scientist – Bioassay Development (Onsite)
Location: San Francisco, CA (Onsite | Local candidates preferred)
Schedule: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM (some flexibility)
Duration: 12 Months (Possibility of Extension)

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Overview:

• Recent PhD graduate in Biochemistry, Chemical Biology, Molecular Biology, or related field

• Strong quantitative and analytical skills

• Demonstrated ability to quickly learn and adapt in a laboratory environment

• Early-career scientists (0–2 years postdoctoral or industry experience)

• Strong foundation in scientific reasoning and data analysis

• Highly adaptable and trainable, able to learn in-house assay development techniques, particularly for cellular target engagement workflows

• Comfortable working hands-on in a lab, interpreting experimental data, and contributing to assay development

• Open to learning new methodologies and aligning with established team processes

• Able to plan and conduct experiments with limited supervision, record and analyze data, and ensure reliable results

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Position Responsibilities:

• Develop and optimize bioassays for routine execution, supporting high-throughput screening (HTS), hit characterization & assessment, lead optimization, and mechanism-of-action (MOA) studies

• Design and conduct laboratory experiments, generate and interpret data for assay development and evaluation of therapeutic agents

• Learn, apply, and integrate automation solutions during assay development, MOA studies, data analysis, and reporting processes

• Design, optimize, and implement workflows for cell line generation to enable development of cell-based assays for screening and/or lead optimization

• Plan and execute experiments semi-independently, adapting to evolving project needs

• Identify, evaluate, and implement novel methods to develop robust bioassays with reliable and reproducible data

• Stay current with scientific literature and actively contribute to data interpretation

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Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience working collaboratively within a multi-disciplinary biopharmaceutical team

• Strong foundation in various bioassays and readouts: TR-FRET, BRET, Alpha, MSD, HCS, luminescence, fluorescence

• Expertise in target engagement (TE), activity, functional, phenotypic, and protein-protein interaction (PPI) assays (e.g., TSA, probe displacement, second messenger, ion flux, reporter, protein stability, NanoBiT/NanoBRET, immunoassays, gene activation, cellular imaging)

• Extensive experience in functional and phenotypic characterization of engineered cells using DNA sequencing, RT-qPCR, Western Blots

• Experience with bioassays on physiologically relevant cellular models: iPSCs, 3D-culture, co-culture, primary cells

• Competence in operating multimode plate readers (PHERAstar, CLARIOstar, FLIPR, EnVision) and automated liquid handlers (Echo, Dragonfly, Multidrop Combi, Bravo, BioTek Plate Washer, BlueWasher) for 384- and 1536-well microtiter plate assays

• Familiarity with software and statistical platforms for analyzing large datasets, including Screener and Spotfire

Basic Qualifications:

• PhD in Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Chemical Biology, or related field

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Interview Process:

• 30-minute phone screen

• Half-day onsite panel interview

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Important Notes:

• Local candidates preferred (no relocation)

• Must be able to start quickly

• Not suitable for candidates with extensive post-PhD experience (2+ years industry)

• Frequent job changes (<6 months) may be a concern

 
 
At SPECTRAFORCE, we are committed to maintaining a workplace that ensures fair compensation and wage transparency in adherence with all applicable state and local laws. This position’s starting pay is: $ 40.00/weekly.