Scientist, Mechanistic Biology

General Proximity • San Francisco, CA

13h • Onsite

About The Position

General Proximity is a seed-stage startup developing the next generation of induced proximity medicines (IPMs). Our OmniTAC drug discovery engine furnishes molecules that co-opt existing cellular machinery to overcome therapeutic challenges, which have remained unapproachable to other modalities for decades. We are seeking a first-rate mechanistic biologist to help us pioneer this uncharted frontier of drug discovery. A long-standing challenge in drug discovery is the development of molecules capable of modulating difficult or "undruggable" targets. Disease-causing proteins can be dysfunctional in many different ways, but our armamentarium for fixing them is quite limited. The most common mechanism of action for FDA-approved drugs is inhibition, but there are many other possible perturbation types whose potential remains unrealized. General Proximity is a seed-stage drug discovery company developing a novel platform technology to solve this problem. We make bifunctional drugs that induce the modification of drug targets by existing cellular machinery (rather than through direct modulation by the drug, the classical approach). Historically, the development of technologies that allow one to push new buttons in biology has been an incredibly fertile field for the discovery of new medicines, and our technology holds the same promise. We are seeking an experienced mechanistic biologist to join our Discovery Biology Team. In this position, you will work closely with our Platform and Chemistry Teams to drive mechanistic understanding of our lead compounds and support core drug discovery efforts. This is an opportunity to help elucidate novel pharmacological mechanisms of our next-gen IPMs.

Requirements

• BS, MS or PhD in Cell Biology, Biochemistry, or related field.
• Candidates without a PhD should have 5-7+ years of relevant industry experience.
• Previous experience elucidating novel biology underlying small-molecule mechanism of action in a drug discovery context.
• Top-notch written and oral communication skills.
• Strong experience with cellular and molecular biology, including extensive experience with mammalian cell line work and associated assays, stable cell line generation (lentiviral and CRISPR-based systems), co-IP/pull-down assays, RNA-seq, global proteomics, flow cytometry, plasmid design/cloning, etc.
• Strong experience with small molecule drug development campaigns (hit discovery, hit validation, dose-response studies, SAR and MOA studies)
• Strong experience with mechanistic studies of cell signaling, pathway analysis, and PTM analysis
• Strong experience with protein-protein interaction techniques (e.g., BRET, APEX/BioID, AlphaScreen, etc.)
• Strong experience with NGS library prep, sequencing, and analysis

Nice To Haves

• Experience with PROTAC/next-gen IPM technologies
• Experience working at the interface of mechanistic biology and chemistry
• Experience working on teams that have successfully advanced research to the clinic
• Experience managing CROs

Responsibilities

• Designing and executing mechanistic studies on hit compounds
• Dissecting signaling pathways to map compound mechanism of action
• Interrogating protein-protein interactions
• Preparing and analyzing NGS libraries
• Developing and deploying functional cell-based assays to characterize novel pharmacology

Benefits

• Strong equity incentives
• Top tier medical, dental, and vision coverage + One Medical membership
• 401(k) retirement plans
• Education and health/fitness incentive programs
• Meditation retreats—do a ten-day Vipassana retreat without counting towards vacation days
• Reading budget

What This Job Offers

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