Senior Scientist Single Cell Assay and Technology Development (AI)

Location: South San Francisco, California, United States

Base salary: $136,000–$170,000 annually, plus bonus and equity.

Company

hirify.global is a biotech startup developing generative AI and foundation models for drug discovery, protein and antibody therapeutics, biology, and disease research.

What you will do

• Conceive, prototype, and develop novel single-cell assays and extend commercial workflows for new molecular readouts and biological applications.
• Develop and troubleshoot sample preparation, barcoding, reverse transcription, amplification, targeted and whole-transcriptome NGS library preparation, and quality control.
• Design custom primers, oligonucleotides, and barcodes.
• Build mammalian cell systems and functional assays using cell engineering, flow cytometry, imaging, and in situ hybridization.
• Partner with biology and engineering teams to convert prototypes into reproducible, scalable workflows and document protocols for internal transfer.
• Evaluate emerging technologies and help determine which assay concepts and technologies to pursue.

Requirements

• PhD in molecular biology, cell biology, bioengineering, biochemistry, immunology, or a related field, with 4+ years of relevant experience including industry experience in assay or technology development. Candidates with fewer than 4 years of postdoctoral experience may be considered if they have strong single-cell assay or technology development experience; the title may be adjusted accordingly.
• Track record of inventing or substantially improving single-cell, NGS, or cell-based assays.
• Expertise in molecular biology and NGS assay development, including nucleic acid handling, reverse transcription, enzymatic reactions, oligonucleotide design, library preparation, and quality control.
• Experience developing or adapting single-cell sequencing workflows, with troubleshooting and problem-solving across biology, assay chemistry, instrumentation, and data.
• Strong mammalian cell biology skills, including cell culture and functional assay development.
• Strong analytical skills in experimental design and statistical analysis of NGS and single-cell data, with proficiency in R or Python.
• Strong organizational skills and clear written and oral communication.
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, rapidly changing environment.

Nice to have

• Experience with antibody engineering, expression, quality control, conjugation, functional testing, immunology, or primary immune cell assays.
• Experience with high-throughput or miniaturized assays, lab automation, or design of experiments.
• Experience with pooled screening, genetic or chemical perturbation assays, or molecular reporter development with sequencing-based readouts.

Culture & Benefits

• Work in a small, multidisciplinary technology development team with biologists, engineers, and computational scientists.
• Open, flexible, and friendly work environment.
• Competitive compensation and benefits package including base salary, bonus, and equity.
• Opportunity to shape technical direction and develop technologies supporting AI-driven drug discovery.