Scientist II, Functional Bioassays & High Throughput Screening

Generate Biomedicines•Somerville, MA

About The Position

The Functional Bioassays team is seeking a Scientist II to develop, optimize, and execute functional assays across Generate’s therapeutic portfolio. This bench-focused role generates high-quality data to guide protein design and program decisions, including AI/ML-enabled design cycles. The scientist will develop and troubleshoot biochemical and cell-based assays, execute high-throughput screening campaigns, analyze results, and support automation integration across programs. Assay work may include ion-channel, GPCR, ADC-related, and other functional platforms as portfolio needs evolve. Approximately 80–90% of the role is laboratory-based. The Scientist II collaborates with colleagues across Therapeutics, Technology, and cross-functional program teams to deliver well-controlled data for iterative design-build-test-learn cycles. The role is suited to a hands-on scientist with functional assay development and high-throughput screening experience who can take ownership of experiments, communicate results clearly, and adapt to changing program needs. The position offers an opportunity to join Generate’s Functional Bioassays team during significant portfolio growth. The scientist will generate functional data to advance therapeutic programs and support rapid design-build-test-learn cycles, while working across diverse biology and learning new assay platforms in a collaborative environment.

Requirements

PhD in cell biology, pharmacology, immunology, biochemistry, bioengineering, molecular biology, or a related discipline, with approximately 2+ years of industry or postdoctoral experience; or MS with approximately 5+ years of relevant industry or academic research experience; or BS with approximately 7+ years of relevant industry or academic research experience.
Hands-on experience with cell-based, biochemical, and functional assays in an academic, biotech, pharmaceutical, or related research setting.
Strong technical foundation in mammalian cell culture and plate-based assay workflows.
Experience with plate-based assay technologies such as ELISA, HTRF, AlphaLISA, luminescence or fluorescence assays, flow cytometry, or similar methods.
Experience designing, optimizing, and executing high-throughput screening in 384- or 1536-well formats for small molecules, biologics, or both, with appropriate controls and replicates, sound data quality, and clear documentation.
Ability to recognize assay-performance or data-quality issues, investigate likely causes, and contribute to troubleshooting.
Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, matrixed research environment where priorities may shift across programs.
Strong organizational skills and the ability to manage multiple experiments or workstreams.
Ability to analyze and present data at scale using tools such as Spotfire, Dotmatics, ScreenWorks, Harmony, iQue Forecyt, or similar platforms.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to summarize results, observations, and next steps clearly.
Collaborative working style, accountability, curiosity, and adaptability when learning new assay formats, therapeutic areas, and technologies.

Nice To Haves

Experience with ion-channel assays or related functional readouts, such as patch clamp, membrane-potential, thallium-flux assays, or electrophysiology workflows.
Experience with GPCR assays, including reporter, calcium-flux, cAMP, IP-one, beta-arrestin, or other pathway-based functional assays.
Experience with ADC, image-based internalization, targeted protein degradation, immune-cell, or cytotoxicity assay formats.
Experience with organoid-based screening workflows.
Experience working with primary cells, engineered cell lines, or stable cell-line generation.
Experience with laboratory automation systems such as HighRes, Beckman Biomek i5/i7, Hamilton, EL406, Multidrop, or equivalent liquid-handling platforms.
Interest in applying functional biology to AI/ML-enabled therapeutic discovery.

Responsibilities

Design, optimize, and implement high-throughput screening-compatible cell-based and biochemical assays, integrating automation where appropriate.
Plan and execute plate-based high-throughput screening campaigns, analyze results, and interpret experimental datasets.
Communicate findings to program teams to inform AI/ML-enabled design cycles, program decisions, and therapeutic optimization.
Support high-throughput functional assay work across multiple therapeutic programs, potentially including ion-channel, GPCR, and ADC-related assays.
Apply and expand expertise in novel functional assay technologies, including ion-channel and GPCR assays, as program needs evolve.
Conduct experiments with attention to detail, scientific rigor, and adherence to established protocols.
Troubleshoot assay performance, instrumentation, reagents, and workflows in partnership with senior scientists and Automation colleagues.
Maintain accurate, timely, and well-organized records in electronic laboratory notebooks and other data systems.
Prepare clear summaries of results for team discussions, program updates, and cross-functional meetings.
Coordinate experiments with colleagues across Functional Bioassays, Automation, Biology, Protein Sciences, Data Science, and program teams.
Follow laboratory safety practices, sample-handling requirements, data-integrity expectations, and Generate’s scientific standards.