Senior Scientist, Assay Research

Pattern Bioscience•Austin, TX

6d•Onsite

About The Position

At Pattern Bioscience, we’re tackling antibiotic resistance, one of the biggest public health challenges of our time. Our platform combines machine learning with single‑cell digitization to identify pathogens and predict drug responses in hours instead of days. Unlike traditional molecular diagnostics (PCR/NGS) that rely on detecting genetic signatures, we build live‑cell, direct‑from‑specimen biochemical assays on our proprietary microfluidic platform. We’re looking for an experienced Assay Research Scientist to help shape the next generation of our diagnostic capabilities. This is a hands-on role with a balanced focus, split approximately 50% between wet-lab bench work and 50% toward design, analysis and strategic collaboration. In this role, you’ll collaborate across disciplines while driving the scientific vision behind innovative, high‑impact technology.

Requirements

You’ve built assays or biological measurement strategies from scratch and enjoy creating what didn’t exist before.
You’re comfortable formulating your own reagents, buffers, or micro-environments when off-the-shelf solutions fall short.
You bring deep expertise in microbial metabolism, enzymology, or cell-based signaling and know how to translate biology into measurable outputs.
You are relentlessly analytical and data-driven; you are comfortable working outside of Excel to manipulate and interpret complex datasets.
You’re energized by challenges at the intersection of microfluidics, physical chemistry, and microbiology.
You plan, execute, and analyze complex experiments—then distill the data into crisp, actionable insights.
You care about accuracy, reproducibility, and the small factors that make experiments succeed.
You’re comfortable stepping into unfamiliar territory, learning quickly, and solving problems with first-principles thinking.
Ph.D. in Biochemistry, Biophysics, Bioengineering, or Chemistry with 5+ years of experience in assay research and development.
Understanding of the rigor of Design Control (ISO 13485/FDA 21 CFR 820) and how to build a design that is "manufacturable" without compromising performance.
Experience working with a broad range of pathogens and infectious disease matrices.

Nice To Haves

Hands-on experience with droplet microfluidics, flow cytometry, or other single-cell "digitization" technologies is highly preferred.
Significant evidence of original contribution to the field through publications or patents.

Responsibilities

Lead the hands-on creation of biochemical assays, focusing on single-cell metabolic activity and phenotypic responses within picoliter-scale environments.
Create robust sample-prep and assay chemistries designed to maintain high signal-to-noise and assay stability when working directly with unrefined, high-interference clinical samples.
Identify and mature novel assay concepts and chemistries that are both patentable and scalable, collaborating closely with engineering to move bench-top breakthroughs into production-ready solutions.
Apply deep data analysis to characterize single-cell behavior, providing the high-quality datasets that power our machine-learning models for rapid pathogen ID and drug susceptibility testing.