Senior Scientist – Therapeutic Modality Assessment for Surface Targets

Amgen • Thousand Oaks, CA

1d

About The Position

Amgen’s Surfaceome Platform advances the discovery and validation of cell type-specific surface targets across disease areas to enable targeted therapeutics. The Surface Biology early validation group triages proteomics- and transcriptomics-derived hits, defines actionable target properties, and guides early therapeutic modality selection. The Senior Scientist will characterize cell-surface targets quantitatively and use knowledge of modality-specific mechanisms and requirements to propose and experimentally evaluate therapeutic modalities, guiding target prioritization and early therapeutic strategy.

Requirements

• Doctorate degree (Ph.D.) with relevant postdoctoral experience where applicable, or a master’s degree and 2 years of relevant scientific experience, or a bachelor’s degree and 4 years of relevant scientific experience.
• Collaborative, critical-thinking scientist.
• Strong data analysis and problem-solving skills, with clear scientific communication in collaborative research environments.

Nice To Haves

• Ph.D. in Cell Biology, Biomedical Science, Immunology, Oncology, Pharmacology, or a related biological discipline, with 2 or more years of biotechnology or pharmaceutical industry research experience.
• Experience contributing to discovery programs across multiple therapeutic modalities, including early target validation, antibody/binder or small-molecule characterization, and experimental assessment of therapeutic approaches for cell-surface targets.
• Understanding of modality-specific characteristics and ability to propose modalities and design experiments to evaluate effects on target biology and cellular function.
• Demonstrated scientific independence, broad knowledge of cell-surface biology, and a strong record of scientific contributions to therapeutic discovery programs.
• Experience developing and executing high-throughput cell-based screening assays.
• Hands-on experience measuring cell-surface target density, internalization, trafficking kinetics, or receptor clearance using flow cytometry or quantitative imaging approaches.
• Familiarity with automated liquid handling workstations, such as Echo acoustic dispensers, Tecan, or Hamilton, or with assay miniaturization strategies.
• Scientific achievement demonstrated through publications, patents, or contributions to discovery program advancement.

Responsibilities

• Propose therapeutic modalities for surface targets based on target properties and modality-specific characteristics.
• Define experimental strategies to assess the suitability of proposed modalities for novel targets.
• Develop, standardize, and execute scalable, high-throughput quantitative workflows to evaluate modality effects on surface protein degradation, internalization, trafficking, and downstream cellular function following target engagement.
• Integrate experimental findings into rigorous Go/No-Go decision packages, identifying opportunities and limitations to guide therapeutic modality selection.
• Collaborate with colleagues in the early validation team and across functions to address evolving project needs.
• Rigorously document experimental workflows and present high-quality, validated data in cross-functional team discussions.

Benefits

• Comprehensive employee benefits package, including a Retirement and Savings Plan with generous company contributions, group medical, dental and vision coverage, life and disability insurance, and flexible spending accounts.
• Discretionary annual bonus program, or a sales-based incentive plan for field sales representatives.
• Stock-based long-term incentives.
• Award-winning time-off plans.
• Flexible work models where possible.
• Career development opportunities.
• Work/life balance support.

What This Job Offers

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