Senior Scientist & Program Lead

Pear VC•Palo Alto, CA

8d•Onsite

About The Position

Velocity Bio is a venture-backed startup spun out of Stanford University that combines microfluidics and AI to accelerate discovery of next-generation therapeutics. The company is building a large dataset of high-fidelity enzyme function to train AI models for allosteric drug discovery and enzyme function prediction. In collaboration with the Institute for Protein Design at the University of Washington, Argonne National Laboratory, and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Velocity is contributing to a Department of Energy Genesis Mission project focused on AI-enabled enzyme design. The Senior Scientist & Program Lead will work closely with the founding team to scale high-fidelity enzyme function datasets, develop in vitro enzyme assays on Velocity’s proprietary microfluidic platform, and manage external collaborations. The role combines hands-on wet-bench biochemistry with data generation and analysis on a high-throughput platform, as well as leadership of internal and external projects. As an early hire, this person will help shape the company’s scientific direction and culture.

Requirements

PhD in life sciences; Biochemistry, Biophysics, Chemical Biology, or Structural Biology is preferred.
At least 3 years of relevant industry experience.
Expertise in enzymology and in vitro functional assays.
Deep understanding of protein structure and function.
Fluency in common molecular biology techniques, including construct design, cloning, and DNA and protein purification.
Fluency in Python programming.
Ability to move quickly between strategic planning and hands-on execution.
Exceptional scientific rigor and attention to detail.

Nice To Haves

Experience leading large-scale internal or external projects.
Hands-on experience with other protein biophysical assays, including assays characterizing stability and binding.
Experience performing recombinant protein expression and purification.
Experience with NGS workflows.

Responsibilities

Design, perform, and analyze high-throughput enzyme assays on Velocity’s platform.
Design and manage large-scale internal and external data-generation campaigns.
Develop new high-throughput classical quantitative biochemical assays.
Work closely with AI/ML engineers to guide model development and evaluations.
Shape Velocity’s scientific roadmap alongside the founding team.