(Senior / Principal) Scientist, Therapeutic Discovery

Capable Labs • San Francisco, CA

3d • Onsite

About The Position

Capable Labs is seeking a Scientist, Therapeutic Discovery to originate and lead new therapeutic programs from scientific concept through early validation. This role is for an ambitious, high-integrity individual who can bring clarity to open-ended problems, take ownership of next steps, and follow through with energy. The ideal candidate will be surrounded by a mission-driven team, receive close feedback from decision-makers, and have opportunities to own increasingly important problems. Excellent work will be met with meaningful reward, ownership, and trust, with responsibility earned through contribution, not title alone.

Requirements

• A record of originating and advancing scientific or therapeutic programs, with concrete outcomes such as meaningful data, program decisions, publications, patents, products, funding, or clinical progress.
• Ideally, you have created or helped create a drug candidate that advanced into clinical trials or reached the market.
• Strong scientific judgment and the ability to turn a promising mechanism or biological opportunity into an executable, falsifiable program.
• The breadth to evaluate targets, modalities, assays, biomarkers, model systems, translational paths, and program risks without losing scientific depth.
• A high-agency, precise, skeptical, and execution-oriented working style that balances speed with rigor.
• The ability to lead interdisciplinary work, bring in missing expertise, and remain close to experiments and data.

Responsibilities

• Originate and lead new therapeutic programs from scientific concept through early validation.
• Identify ambitious opportunities and turn them into testable programs with clear targets, modalities, assays, biomarkers, budgets, timelines, and kill criteria.
• Stay close to the experiments and data.
• Critically evaluate literature, mechanisms, phenotypes, targets, and therapeutic ideas to identify programs worth pursuing.
• Define each program’s target, mechanism, modality, assay strategy, biomarkers, model systems, translational path, budget, timeline, decision points, and kill criteria.
• Select the right modality for each program, which may include RNA, small molecules, peptides, polymers, biologics-adjacent approaches, or other fast-iteration platforms.
• Execute alongside the scientific team through literature review, experimental design, molecule design or sourcing, assay development, in vitro and in vivo testing, data review, and next-round decisions.
• Build the capabilities around promising programs by identifying collaborators and advisors, selecting partners and models, procuring instruments, and helping assemble teams.
• Own program progress and resource decisions while remaining directly engaged with primary data, failures, and scientific tradeoffs.

Benefits

• Generous equity options
• $500+ monthly wellness budget for training, supplements, coaching, recovery, or other tools that help you perform at your best.
• Broad range of medical, dental, and vision coverage options, with Capable covering 100% of the base policy.
• Access to HSA, FSA, and 401K plans.
• Healthy dinners with the team are provided daily.
• Visa sponsorship where appropriate, including O-1, H-1B, J-1, TN, and other employment-based pathways.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed