Scientist II, Screening

Profluent•Emeryville, CA

5d•$144,000 - $160,000

About The Position

Profluent is seeking a motivated, rigorous, and collaborative scientist to establish and lead a centralized gene editor screening function. This role owns screening operations that generate high-quality experimental data for the company’s protein design models, initially supporting campaigns that produce training and evaluation data, with the possibility of expanding to additional programs. The Scientist II will build and run a screening core focused on assay standardization, data quality, and team development. The role involves designing, running, troubleshooting, and analyzing mammalian genome editing assays with NGS readouts in arrayed and pooled formats, while setting technical standards for reproducible and trustworthy data. The scientist will build and mentor a team of Research Associates and coordinate with Automation, Bioinformatics, Data Science, and Biology to operate the screening pipeline end to end. This position balances hands-on scientific execution with people management and process development. The scientist will identify and drive infrastructure projects to improve throughput, consistency, and assay sensitivity, and work with leadership to shape the long-term scope of the core. It offers the opportunity to contribute to AI-driven protein design alongside experts in machine learning, protein engineering, cell biology, and gene editing.

Requirements

PhD in Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Cell Biology, or a related field and 2+ years of relevant industry experience, or an MS in a related field and 10+ years of relevant industry experience.
Hands-on experience with bacterial and mammalian cell culture, genome editing, and NGS-based assays.
Experience with high-throughput experimentation and analysis of large datasets.
Experience with LIMS or ELN systems for sample and experiment tracking.
Demonstrated ability to establish technical standards and drive consistent execution across operators.

Nice To Haves

Experience working in or building a core facility or centralized service function.
Track record of building or improving high-throughput processes.
Experience leading infrastructure or process improvement projects.
Experience with liquid handling automation and tech transfer.
Experience with cell bank and inventory management.
Strong foundation in experimental design and statistics, including power analysis and design of experiments (DOE).

Responsibilities

Build and lead a team of 2–4 Research Associates, including hiring, training, performance management, and career development.
Train and mentor staff on aseptic technique, assay execution, and documentation standards.
Foster a supportive team culture that prioritizes growth, engagement, and well-being.
Prioritize, schedule, and resource cross-functional experiments in coordination with Automation and Bioinformatics.
Design, execute, troubleshoot, and analyze mammalian genome editing assays with NGS readouts in arrayed and pooled formats.
Onboard new assays and extend existing assays to new enzyme classes.
Maintain sample chain of custody from plate mapping through automation, sample preparation, and sequencing submission, partnering with Bioinformatics on data schema and capture.
Communicate technical results clearly to expert and non-expert audiences.
Deliver QC'd, analysis-ready datasets with documented QC flags to ML.
Define and enforce technical standards, and write and maintain SOPs.
Qualify new assays and define acceptance criteria based on reproducibility data.
Maintain cell line quality and inventory for screening assays in coordination with teams that manage cell banks.
Characterize assay sensitivity, including the minimum detectable difference in activity at standard replicate counts.
Identify, prioritize, and plan infrastructure projects that continually improve assays and processes.
Coordinate process development across Automation, Bioinformatics, Data Science, and Biology.
Evaluate the costs and benefits of centralizing high-throughput workflows in partnership with other teams.
Work with leadership to assess and refine the scope of core functions.