Associate Scientist, Upstream Process Development

Denali Therapeutics • South San Francisco, CA

68d • $107,000 - $131,000

About The Position

Neurodegenerative diseases are one of the largest medical challenges of our time. Denali Therapeutics is a biotechnology company dedicated to developing breakthrough therapies for neurodegenerative diseases through our deep commitment to degeneration biology and principles of translational medicine. Denali is founded on the collaboration of leading scientists, industry experts, and investors who share the vision that scientific discovery energetically applied to translational medicine is the key to delivering effective therapies to patients. We invite you to consider an opportunity with Denali to help achieve our goal of delivering meaningful therapeutics to patients. We are seeking a highly motivated and collaborative Associate Scientist to join our Bioprocess Development team. This is a lab-based position focused on executing and optimizing mammalian cell culture processes to support clinical manufacturing. The successful candidate will be responsible for setting up and running bioreactor experiments, analyzing cell culture performance, and supporting process improvements. The candidate will also collaborate with the cell line development team to support the generation and evaluation of commercially viable cell lines for novel and complex therapeutic molecules.

Requirements

• BA/BS or MS degree in biology, biochemistry, chemical engineering, or related scientific discipline with 3+ years mammalian cell culture experience in the biotech/biopharma industry.
• Good understanding of mammalian/CHO cell culture and upstream process development concepts.
• Hands on experience with AMBR bioreactor systems is a plus.
• Excellent critical thinking, scientific problem-solving, communication skills and strong attention to detail.
• Experience in executing projects with ambitious timelines with the ability to adapt to rapid changes in project priorities.

Responsibilities

• Independently execute and analyze lab-scale fed-batch bioreactor experiments to support upstream process development and optimization efforts.
• Support hands-on cell line development workflows, including transfection, selection, single cell cloning, clone screening, and banking.
• Operate, maintain, and troubleshoot key laboratory equipment such as Vi-CELL, Nova Flex2, Octet, and bench-scale bioreactors.
• Maintain accurate and timely lab notebooks and author clear, well-structured technical development reports.
• Actively contribute to platform process improvements and evaluate emerging technologies through practical lab testing.
• Consistently follow established experimental protocols and lab workflows and provide input for their refinement and improvement.

Benefits

• 401k
• healthcare coverage
• ESPP
• broad range of other benefits

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Industry: Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
• Education Level: Bachelor's degree
• Number of Employees: 251-500 employees