Principal Scientist, In Vitro Pharmacology

Flagship Pioneering, Inc.•Boston, MA

14h

About The Position

We are looking for a highly motivated, experienced cell biologist and assay developer to join our growing team and lead in vitro pharmacology efforts. In this role, the successful candidate will be responsible for conceiving, developing and executing in vitro pharmacology plans to support the progression of the Abiologics pipeline. This role includes hands-on work in the lab, as well as leadership of a cross-functional project team and mentorship of more junior scientists. Occasionally, the incumbent may contribute to in vivo and ex-vivo pharmacology activities to progress projects and the platform. In addition, this role will collaborate cross-functionally with a diverse design-make-test team across Abiologics and have the opportunity to impact platform and company build-out.

Requirements

PhD in molecular or cell biology or related discipline with minimum 7+ years relevant experience (with at least 5 in industry) required
Technical expertise with mammalian cell culture including establishing and maintaining cell lines, transient and stable transfection, lentiviral transduction, and reporter cell lines
Proficient in industry-standard cell-based assays and bioanalytical techniques including TR-FRET, ELISA, Western blot, flow cytometry, and reporter gene assays; experience with cellular/high content imaging and image analysis a plus
Experienced with primary cell culture and characterization, including tissue dissociation
Experienced in assay development and testing in model systems and human with good understanding of analytical and pre-analytical methods and solutions
In vivo pharmacology expertise highly desired
Demonstrated ability to independently design, develop and optimize diverse cell-based functional assays (e.g., intracellular signaling) and interpret complex results
Disease biology expertise in oncology is highly desirable, with experience advancing compounds from discovery through preclinical development
Proficiency in laboratory automation and semi-automated screening workflows a plus
Industry level experience with best practices related to data records creation and maintenance and workflow integrity
Demonstrated ability to work in a fast-paced environment; self-driven, creative, with a strong team-oriented mentality
Demonstrated ability to lead and grow people in the industry setting

Responsibilities

Design, develop and execute cell-based assays to assess SynteinTM activity, target engagement and mechanism of action to drive discovery programs
Lead cell biology efforts within the Pharmacology team to identify and implement relevant cell-based assays for diverse target classes and disease areas
Lead a cross-functional project team, including driving strategy for progressing multiple hit series
Collaborate with the Pharmacology team on biochemistry and biophysics projects and provide cell biology expertise and guidance to junior team members
Contribute to in vivo and ex vivo pharmacology activities to progress projects and the platform
Collaborate cross-functionally to enable novel methods, assays and screening workflows
Ensure rapid generation and accurate reporting of high-quality data and collaborate with Computational Design and Chemistry teams to drive design-make-test cycles
Effectively communicate scientific findings and ideas to a diverse team both informally and at project team meetings