Senior Research Associate / Associate Scientist, Protein Science, Antibody Platform

Lila Sciences • Cambridge, MA

7d • $80,000 - $118,000

About The Position

Lila Sciences is seeking an experienced Senior Research Associate to join our Antibody Platform team. In this role, you will play a pivotal role in building Lila's Scientific Superintelligence platform by leveraging your deep expertise in high-throughput antibody discovery, production, and characterization.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Bioengineering, or related discipline with 2–5+ years of hands-on industry or academic experience.
• Proficiency with antibody expression in CHO-S, including DNA transfection, small-scale cell culture, and antibody characterization; ExpiCHO expertise strongly preferred.
• Experience using sequence analysis software for molecular biology workflows and annotating antibody sequences, specifically Geneious, Benchling, PipeBio, etc.
• Experience with liquid handling automation and high-throughput formats.
• Experience with biolayer interferometry (BLI) or surface plasmon resonance (SPR) quantitative binding assays, CE-SDS, and antibody developability assays.
• Outstanding troubleshooting skills, adaptability, and ability to drive innovation in experimental design.
• Familiarity with laboratory data analysis, digital recordkeeping, and collaborative scientific workflows.
• Strong communication skills and an eagerness to collaborate with a fast-paced, cross-functional team.

Nice To Haves

• Skilled in cloning, expression and optimization of multispecific antibody formats
• Data analysis using relevant software (Python, R, Spotfire, or similar)
• Scripting for automation platforms

Responsibilities

• Design, optimize and execute high-throughput workflows for antibody expression and purification.
• Drive platform evolution by identifying opportunities to improve efficiency, robustness, and scalability of antibody production.
• Collaborate closely with scientists, engineers, and automation experts to discover, evaluate and implement novel automation tools, technologies, and reagents to expand the Antibody Platform’s capabilities.
• Innovate and adapt protocols to accommodate new antibody formats, targets, and expression strategies.
• Analyze antibody yield and binding characteristics using biolayer interferometry (BLI) and other relevant techniques; interpret and communicate findings effectively.
• Ensure data quality, documentation, and reproducibility in all experiments; actively contribute to knowledge sharing and continuous improvement initiatives. Collaboration, flexibility, and creative problem-solving are key to thrive in this dynamic role.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 101-250 employees