Principal Biologist/Senior Principal Biologist, Immune Aging

Lilly • San Francisco, CA

6d • $71,250 - $187,000 • Onsite

About The Position

Lilly is building an exploratory research effort centered on immune aging, with active programs in T cell biology, cellular reprogramming, CAR-T applications, and the immune–stromal interactions that sustain chronic inflammation. We are hiring a Principal Biologist to serve as a hands-on technical driver of this work, executing experiments on programs designed by the project lead, generating decision-grade data, and contributing recognized bench expertise in primary human immune cell biology.

Requirements

• Master’s degree in Immunology, Cell Biology, Molecular Biology, or a closely related discipline, with 3+ years of industry research experience; or a Bachelor’s degree with 5+ years of industry research experience.
• Experience with immunoassays (ELISA, MSD, HTRF), multi-color flow cytometry (staining, acquisition, and analysis in FlowJo), and protein detection methods such as Western blotting.
• Current US work authorization is required.

Nice To Haves

• Working knowledge of cell and molecular biology concepts and a strong grasp of underlying assay principles.
• Hands-on experience with cell lines, whole blood, and isolation and culture of primary human immune cells.
• Demonstrated ability to operate and troubleshoot independently, with consistent, reproducible execution and strong technical communication.
• Experience with cellular and biochemical assays in 96- and 384-well formats.
• Research experience with small molecules, biologics, and/or genetic medicine modalities.
• Experience with lentiviral and retroviral systems.
• Light computational competence for flow data analysis (FlowJo) and basic data wrangling; deep computational expertise is not required.

Responsibilities

• Execute primary human immune cell experiments across multiple projects under the direction of the project lead, including isolation, culture, and functional characterization of T cells and other immune populations.
• Design and run multiparameter flow cytometry and complementary molecular and cellular assays to interrogate target biology, including panel design, FACS sorting, multiplex cytokine quantification, Western blot, qRT-PCR, co-culture systems, and functional readouts of T cell activity and senescence.
• Deliver decision-grade data through rigorous controls and pre-specified analysis plans; troubleshoot independently using evidence-based reasoning; and surface limitations and unexpected findings proactively.
• Communicate results clearly through written summaries, presentation-quality figures, and team scientific reviews, while maintaining disciplined experimental records.

Benefits

• company bonus (depending, in part, on company and individual performance)
• company-sponsored 401(k)
• pension
• vacation benefits
• medical, dental, vision and prescription drug benefits
• flexible benefits (e.g., healthcare and/or dependent day care flexible spending accounts)
• life insurance and death benefits
• certain time off and leave of absence benefits
• well-being benefits (e.g., employee assistance program, fitness benefits, and employee clubs and activities)

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Principal