Associate Director - Preclinical Development, Immunology

Location: Monrovia, California, United States; full-time onsite

Salary: $180,000–$263,000 annually, depending on skill level

Company

hirify.global is a venture-backed biotechnology company using artificial intelligence, synthetic chemistry, automation, nanotechnology, and large-scale chemical data to accelerate small-molecule drug discovery.

What you will do

• Lead a small team of assay scientists developing and running cell-based assays for internal and partner pipeline programs.
• Advance programs from hit validation through hit-to-lead, lead optimization, and lead candidate selection.
• Develop cell-based assay funnels supporting structure-activity optimization for inflammation targets.
• Provide immunology expertise for evaluating novel targets, disease mechanisms, and immune modulation strategies.
• Analyze and interpret experimental data and communicate results in project team meetings.
• Collaborate with biology, chemistry, platform, screening, data, and computational teams across multiple projects.

Requirements

• PhD in immunology or a related small-molecule drug discovery field and 10+ years of small-molecule drug discovery industry experience.
• Deep expertise in immunology, immune signaling pathways, disease mechanisms, and immune modulation.
• Extensive experience with small-molecule development from target validation through lead optimization.
• Experience evaluating novel drug targets, developing screening approaches, and defining target product profiles.
• Leadership and mentorship experience managing a small team of scientists in a multidisciplinary, matrixed environment.
• Hands-on experience developing and optimizing immunological assays, including flow cytometry, cytokine profiling, ELISA, luminescence or fluorescence assays, Western blot, immunoprecipitation, and IC50 measurements.

Nice to have

• Experience with lab automation, high-throughput screening in 384-well format, or liquid-handling systems.

Culture & Benefits

• Hands-on, highly collaborative work environment with shared accountability.
• Opportunity to contribute to a mission focused on advancing human health.
• Company option plan participation.
• 3% retirement safe harbor contribution.
• Fully paid medical, dental, vision, life, and disability benefits.