Research Specialist / Scientist, Metabolic Phenotyping (In Vitro & In Vivo)

Altos Labs • San Francisco, CA

14d

About The Position

Our mission is to restore cell health and resilience through cell rejuvenation to reverse disease, injury, and the disabilities that can occur throughout life. Altos Labs has been named one of the Top 3 Biotech Companies and ranked for the second year on the Forbes 2026 Best Startups in America list. At Altos, exceptional scientists and industry leaders from around the world work together to advance a shared mission. Our intentional focus is on Belonging, so that all employees know that they are valued for their unique perspectives. We are all accountable for sustaining a diverse and inclusive environment. You will join a discovery team investigating the role of metabolism in aging and cellular rejuvenation. You will independently plan, execute, troubleshoot, and interpret rigorous experiments across models that range from primary cell cultures to in vivo rodent systems, applying a diverse set of techniques that includes real-time measurements of cellular energetics, multi-omics sample generation, metabolic imaging, and whole-animal phenotyping. You will formulate hypotheses and take ownership of your experimental projects, drawing on guidance from senior colleagues to work through roadblocks. You will communicate findings clearly to both scientific and non-scientific colleagues, collaborate across the team, and keep the meticulous, well-organized electronic-laboratory-notebook records that make the team's data rigorous and reproducible.

Requirements

• PhD in molecular biology, physiology, biochemistry, pharmacology, or a related life-sciences discipline, with a research focus in metabolism, and typically 0–2 years of relevant experience post-PhD; OR Bachelor's degree in a related life-sciences discipline, with 8+ years of relevant hands-on industry research experience in metabolism.
• Hands-on experience across both in vitro and in vivo workflows, including direct experience designing and executing in vivo rodent studies (e.g., animal handling, dosing, metabolic phenotyping, and tissue collection), with a strong background in Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) protocol compliance.
• Experience preparing biological samples for downstream metabolomics, lipidomics, or genomics pipelines.
• Demonstrated experience with immunofluorescence/immunohistochemistry staining and fluorescence, confocal, or high-content microscopy of cells or metabolic tissue sections.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to summarize, document, and present data clearly and to maintain rigorous ELN records.
• Track record of working effectively both independently and as part of a collaborative, cross-functional team.

Nice To Haves

• In vivo rodent experience specifically in preclinical metabolic disease models (e.g., obesity, diabetes, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis [MASH], or mitochondrial dysfunction).
• Hands-on experience setting up, running, and analyzing data from Agilent Seahorse XF instruments (or equivalent extracellular-flux/respirometry platforms).
• Experience with in vitro metabolic models such as hepatocytes, adipocytes, or myotubes, and with organoid or three-dimensional (3D) tissue culture.
• Familiarity with high-content screening (HCS) platforms and automated image-analysis workflows in Python or another scripting-based approach.
• Laboratory automation, flow cytometry (fluorescence-activated cell sorting, FACS), cell line engineering, and next-generation sequencing library preparation.
• Active ALAT/LAT (laboratory animal technician) certification.

Responsibilities

• Design and execute in vivo rodent metabolic studies in collaboration with the team, including animal handling, dosing (intraperitoneal, intravenous, oral), metabolic phenotyping (glucose- and insulin-tolerance tests, CLAMS for metabolic monitoring), and endpoint tissue collection optimized for multi-omics, bioenergetic, and histological analysis.
• Perform immunofluorescence and immunohistochemistry on cultured cells and metabolic tissues (e.g., liver, adipose, muscle), and operate fluorescence, confocal, or automated high-content imaging systems to visualize lipid droplets, mitochondrial morphology, and protein localization.
• Design and execute metabolic flux assays on the Agilent Seahorse XF analyzer, and prepare cellular and tissue extracts for downstream mass spectrometry-based metabolomics and lipidomics and for genomics workflows (RNA/DNA isolation, quantitative PCR).
• Analyze and interpret bioenergetic, imaging, and phenotyping data (Wave, ImageJ/FIJI, GraphPad Prism), drawing accurate conclusions that guide the next round of experiments.
• Maintain primary metabolic cell cultures and develop, optimize, and scale the throughput of cell-based assays.
• Document all work with accurate, timely records in the electronic laboratory notebook (ELN), and coordinate sample tracking and submissions with internal teams and external contract research organizations (CROs).
• Communicate results clearly through written summaries and presentations, and contribute to manuscripts and conference presentations.
• Collaborate across the discovery team to align in vitro mechanism-of-action findings with in vivo efficacy readouts.

Benefits

• The salary range for Redwood City, CA: Research Specialist : $129,500 - $166,000 Scientist I, Biological Sciences : $134,700 - $172,700 Scientist II, Biological Sciences : $147,600 - $189,200 Exact compensation may vary based on skills, experience, and location.

What This Job Offers

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