Associate Scientist II – Research (Conjugation) (Biotechnology)

Location: San Carlos, California, US; onsite four to five days per week, with at least 80% of working time in hands-on laboratory activities.

Employment: Full-time contract for approximately 12 months, 40 hours per week. Anticipated start date: December 14, 2026.

Company

hirify.global is a life sciences recruiting and consulting firm connecting professionals with pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, and diagnostics organizations.

What you will do

• Execute, optimize, and troubleshoot multistep polysaccharide modification and polysaccharide-protein conjugation reactions, including click chemistry.
• Purify modified polysaccharides and conjugates using dialysis, diafiltration, FPLC chromatography, tangential flow filtration, and related methods.
• Characterize proteins, polysaccharides, and conjugates using SDS-PAGE, Western blotting, ELISA, HPLC, SEC-MALS, and colorimetric assays.
• Apply Design of Experiments principles and software to process optimization studies and interpret experimental data.
• Support analytical method development, stability studies, process improvement, technical documentation, and scientific presentations.
• Maintain Benchling records, laboratory equipment, reagents, and supplies while collaborating with scientists and cross-functional teams under applicable safety and quality standards.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry, Biochemistry, Biology, Pharmaceutical Sciences, or a related scientific discipline.
• More than two years of relevant biotechnology industry experience; approximately 3–5 years of relevant laboratory experience is particularly aligned. Equivalent combinations of education and experience may be considered.
• Strong understanding of conjugation chemistry, purification process development, and analytical characterization.
• Hands-on experience with diafiltration, depth filtration, tangential flow filtration, and other purification methods.
• Proficiency with SDS-PAGE, Western blotting, ELISA, HPLC, SEC-MALS, and related characterization methods.
• Experience developing or optimizing scalable biotechnology or pharmaceutical processes.
• Ability to independently execute protocols, troubleshoot experiments, interpret results, and recommend improvements with limited guidance.
• Strong documentation, organizational, communication, and teamwork skills.
• Onsite laboratory attendance in San Carlos approximately four to five days per week is required.

Nice to have

• Hands-on experience in polysaccharide-protein conjugation process development.
• Experience with click chemistry or other polysaccharide modification chemistries.
• Experience applying Design of Experiments tools to laboratory process optimization.
• Background in vaccine development, carbohydrate chemistry, protein chemistry, or biologics.
• Familiarity with Benchling or similar electronic laboratory notebook systems.
• Experience in GLP, GMP, or other regulated laboratory environments.
• Experience with analytical development, stability testing, and process scale-up.

Culture & Benefits

• Full-time laboratory-based role in a collaborative biotechnology research and development environment.
• Approximately 80% or more of working time is spent performing hands-on laboratory activities.
• Contract duration is approximately 12 months, with a 40-hour workweek.

Hiring process

• Submit an updated resume highlighting conjugation chemistry, purification processes, analytical instrumentation, and relevant biotechnology research experience.