Senior Research Scientist I (Biologics)

Location: Cambridge, MA; On-site

Salary: $115,000.00–$161,667.00 per year

Company

hirify.global's Center for the Development of Therapeutics advances biological insights into drug discovery projects across oncology, cardiovascular, psychiatric, infectious, and rare diseases in collaboration with academic and industry partners.

What you will do

• Lead integrated antibody and biologics engineering campaigns from early concepts through lead identification and optimization.
• Design, execute, and oversee workflows covering affinity maturation, humanization, format conversion, Fc engineering, expression, purification, and characterization.
• Engineer and evaluate IgG, Fab, scFv, bispecific, multispecific, T-cell engager, TCR engager, CAR-T-related, and other novel biologics formats.
• Characterize candidates through biochemical, biophysical, and functional assays assessing binding, affinity, specificity, epitope diversity, developability, potency, and mechanism of action.
• Collaborate with industry and academic partners and CDoT teams in protein sciences and RABIT binder discovery on cross-functional projects.

Requirements

• PhD in immunology, molecular biology, biochemistry, protein engineering, or a related discipline, plus 5+ years of relevant post-PhD industry experience in biologics drug discovery.
• Deep technical expertise in antibody biology, structure and function, discovery platforms, and therapeutic antibody optimization.
• Experience with complex biologics formats, including T-cell engagers, TCR engagers, bispecific or multispecific antibodies, ADCs, CAR-T, or immunocytokine fusions.
• Hands-on experience with structure-guided antibody engineering and modeling software including Schrödinger, MOE, and PyMOL.
• Expertise in antibody characterization assays and platforms, including affinity determination, epitope binning, competition assays, specificity profiling, and developability assessment using Biacore, Carterra, Octet, ELISA, HPLC, DLS/SLS, and related technologies.
• Experience with biologics expression and purification using affinity, SEC, IEX, HIC, and other chromatographic methods.
• Proven ability to design, manage, and critically evaluate outsourced biologics drug discovery, production, and characterization workflows at CROs while managing multiple projects simultaneously.
• Ability to work as a results-focused, team-oriented, creative bench scientist with strong problem-solving, communication, and interpersonal skills.

Nice to have

• Experience with phage or yeast display platforms for antibody discovery and optimization.
• Experience managing direct reports and developing talent.
• Experience with LC-MS characterization of biologics.
• Experience implementing AI/ML in biologics drug discovery workflows.

Culture & Benefits

• Collaborative environment involving academic, industry, and cross-functional research partners.
• Medical, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance.
• 401(k), flexible spending and health savings accounts.
• At least 13 paid holidays, winter closure, paid time off, and parental and family care leave.
• Employee assistance program and other comprehensive benefits.