Senior Scientist, Developability [Contract] Lab Science San Mateo, CA

Senior Scientist, Developability (Contract)

Department: Lab Science

Employment Type: Contract / Temp

Location: San Mateo, CA

Description

The role: BigHat Biosciences is looking for a hands‑on, bench‑driven scientist to perform IND‑enabling developability assessments on late stage drug candidates from our Milliner Platform for AI‑designed therapeutics. This is a lab‑based 12-month contract role , with the possibility but no guarantee of conversion to full‑time position. You'll spend the majority of your time at the bench executing complex stability studies.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead, design, and execute in‑use dose solution studies to assess drug compatibility with administration materials.
• Develop highly sensitive protein characterization methods (qSEC, RP‑HPLC, CEX, particle counting, etc) for assessing drug quality and recovery.
• Support late‑stage characterization, including formulation screening, stress testing, and peptide mapping, to rank and advance lead candidates.
• Drive developability assessments (purity, stability, tolerability, biophysical properties) across programs, with strong attention to data interpretation and organization.
• Communicate with and manage external CROs for testing and analytics.
• Interpret and communicate scientific findings, propose next steps, and broadcast clearly across the organization.
• Proactively identify and scope state‑of‑the‑art analytical tools and developability technologies.

Skills Knowledge and Expertise

• PhD in Biochemistry or relevant discipline with 5+ year(s) of industry experience; exceptional non‑PhD candidates with deep bench experience will be considered.
• Experience developing and optimizing sensitive analytical chromatography‑based methods is a must.
• Strong background in biophysical and analytical characterization of antibodies and antibody fragments: SEC, HIC, CE‑SDS, DLS, DSF, ELISA, LC‑MS.
• Track record of translating complex data into clear results and recommended actions.
• Enthusiastic about learning and onboarding new technologies to expand capabilities and improve work quality, timelines, throughput or cost.