Scientist II - Sr. Scientist, CRISPR Specificity & Genomic Safety

Location: On-site in Emeryville, California, United States. Applicants must have ongoing U.S. work authorization that does not require employer sponsorship.

Hiring salary range: $147,000–$177,000 USD annually, plus equity participation.

Company

hirify.global is an AI biology lab building foundation models for biological molecules and applying them to medicine, agriculture, protein design, and genome editing.

What you will do

• Build and lead the strategy for base-editor specificity assessment, including CHANGE-seq-BE and related biochemical, cell-based, and targeted sequencing workflows.
• Develop, optimize, benchmark, and apply orthogonal methods for evaluating base editors, nucleases, and genomic integrity.
• Design studies to discover, prioritize, and validate DNA and RNA off-target editing events, including NGS library preparation, sequencing QC, and data interpretation.
• Generate datasets that guide editor engineering, guide/editor selection, delivery conditions, candidate nomination, and therapeutic program development.
• Integrate specificity workflows with protein engineering, cell biology, bioinformatics, automation, and program teams.
• Establish reproducible experimental processes, documentation, analysis frameworks, assay qualification, and regulatory-facing genomic safety packages; communicate results and mentor junior scientists.

Requirements

• PhD or equivalent in molecular biology, genomics, genome editing, biochemistry, bioengineering, genetics, chemical biology, or a related field, plus 2–4 years of relevant industry experience.
• Deep hands-on expertise with CRISPR genome editing, particularly base editors, including DNA and RNA off-target editing, bystander editing, indels, and unintended editing outcomes.
• Experience developing or applying NGS-based workflows such as CHANGE-seq-BE, CHANGE-seq, GUIDE-seq, SITE-seq, CIRCLE-seq, targeted amplicon sequencing, RNA-seq, or WGS.
• Strong background in molecular biology, mammalian cell culture, genome-editing reagent delivery, NGS library preparation, assay troubleshooting, and quantitative analysis.
• Ability to interpret complex sequencing datasets, design rigorous experiments with controls and replicates, and collaborate with bioinformatics or computational biology teams.
• Experience with high-throughput or semi-automated workflows, assay qualification, cross-functional project leadership, mentoring, and scientific communication.

Nice to have

• Experience with therapeutic genome-editing programs, genomic safety packages, IND-enabling studies, or regulatory documentation.
• Experience with disease-relevant primary cells, ex vivo edited cells, iPSC-derived systems, or other therapeutically relevant models.
• Familiarity with ML-guided enzyme engineering and protein purification of genome editors for biochemical off-target assays.

Culture & Benefits

• High-growth research environment focused on protein design, AI, biology, and genome editing.
• Competitive compensation with equity participation.
• 401(k) with a strong employer match.
• Health, dental, and vision insurance, generous PTO, and work-life balance support.
• Professional development opportunities in a cutting-edge scientific field.