Raven StealthCo - Principal Scientist, In Vivo Pharmacology

Raven•Boston, MA

5d•$170,000 - $185,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Raven StealthCo is a well-funded, stealth-mode biotechnology company focused on next-generation oligo-based modalities targeting tissues beyond the liver, muscle, and kidney. We are building a platform to deliver oligos with high precision to previously untargeted cells, while focused on “undruggable” genes. The company is in the discovery stage and will invest heavily in its emerging platform for oligonucleotide delivery. This role is for a Principal Scientist / Associate Director, In Vivo Pharmacology to design, manage, and interpret externally executed studies that establish pharmacokinetics, target engagement, pharmacodynamics, and efficacy for our programs. The Principal Scientist reports to the Director of Biology and Pharmacology and leads the company’s in vivo pharmacology efforts, owning how studies are designed, run, and analyzed. In vivo studies will be run externally at contract research organizations while the ex vivo analyses will be executed both internally and externally. The Principal Scientist’s focus will be the design, direction, and interpretation of that work rather than its hands-on execution. This will be an individual contributor role at hire, with clear room to expand in scope and influence as the portfolio and team grow.

Requirements

PhD. in pharmacology, physiology, cell and molecular biology, or a related discipline, with 7+ years of relevant biopharmaceutical industry experience; or M.S./B.S. with commensurate experience.
Demonstrated ownership of in vivo pharmacology workstreams in discovery research and preclinical development, from target validation through candidate selection and development, with learning agility across disease biology
Track record designing, outsourcing, and managing CRO-executed in vivo studies: vendor qualification, protocol negotiation, budget and timeline ownership, on-site oversight (if needed), and critical evaluation of external data
Hands-on rodent experience (dosing by multiple routes, in-life assessment, terminal collection) sufficient to design realistic protocols and challenge a CRO, plus experience designing or running non-human-primate studies
In vivo phenotyping experience (quantitative imaging, histology and morphometry, tissue functional testing, circulating biomarkers)
Experience developing translational biomarkers across research and development
Strong quantitative and statistical fluency
Working familiarity with IACUC review, AAALAC-accredited facilities, and the documentation behind a defensible nonclinical package, sufficient for sponsor-side oversight of external studies
Comfortable guiding junior scientists day to day, or eager to grow into it
Brings a strategic, program-level perspective to in vivo pharmacology and is motivated to expand that influence as the company grows
Process- and detail-oriented, and an effective communicator who operates independently and manages external partners with authority, keeping in vivo data reproducible, well-controlled, and decision-grade
Collaborative, collegial, intellectually curious, driven, trustworthy, and humble, with sound judgement and strong technical decision-making.

Nice To Haves

Experience in our indication is a plus, not a requirement
Experience with oligonucleotide therapeutics or other genetic medicines, especially interpreting pharmacology where exposure, target engagement, and phenotype are separated in time
Comfort with R or Python for larger datasets is a plus

Responsibilities

Partner with the Director to set the staged in vivo pharmacology plan (target validation and proof-of-concept through dose-response, duration of effect, and candidate selection and development), and own its execution
Design the CRO-executed rodent and non-human-primate studies (controls, power, pre-specified endpoints) and author the protocols and analysis plans
Qualify and manage CRO partners for in vivo studies and outsourced analytics (scope, budget, timeline, quality), serving as day-to-day scientific contact from pre-study alignment through in-life monitoring and troubleshooting
Select, qualify, and de-risk the in vivo models, setting performance, variability, and effect-size expectations before pivotal studies
Own the in vivo endpoint suite: quantitative histology and morphometry, tissue-based PD readouts, circulating and tissue biomarkers, and -omics readouts as needed
With the delivery and analytical chemistry groups, connect biodistribution and tissue exposure to pharmacodynamics and phenotype, and design and interpret the PK/PD studies that set exposure–activity–efficacy relationships for dose, schedule, and duration
Define the in vivo and translational biomarker plan carrying programs from research into development, aligned with overall program strategy
Own sample logistics for in vivo studies (receipt, cataloging, storage, chain of custody, and shipment to and from CRO and analytical partners), specifying per study which tissues and readouts are needed and handing samples to the in vitro scientist for execution
Provide hands-on support for tissue processing so samples reach downstream analysis fit for purpose
Benchmark candidates against standard-of-care and mechanistic comparators, and contribute to IND-enabling and larger-species study design and the nonclinical narrative as programs mature
Provide sponsor-side data integrity, documentation, and animal-welfare oversight of external studies (CRO and IACUC review, chain of custody, reproducibility) for an eventual regulatory package, and build the in vivo record-keeping, data, and protocol templates the group runs on
Mentor junior team members and help grow the team as remits expand
Bring in vivo results, their program implications, and competitive-landscape intelligence into cross-functional and leadership discussion, help shape how in vivo findings reach the Board, investors, and partners, and contribute to publications, patents, and presentations