Senior Research Associate, Functional Discovery

Senior Research Associate, Functional Discovery

W2 Contract

Salary Range: $124,800 - $145,600 per year

Location: Redwood City, CA - Onsite Role

Job Summary:

We are looking for an experienced Senior Research Associate to help the Functional Discovery team accelerate our search for new oncology therapeutics. The successful candidate will join a high-performing, highly collaborative team developing and applying cell-based and phenotypic screening approaches to drive discovery against frontier oncology targets.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Culture and maintain mammalian cells using rigorous sterile technique to support robust and reproducible screening assays.
• Design, develop, and execute microplate-based cellular assays to support discovery, validation, and mechanistic characterization of small-molecule modulators of oncology targets.
• Select and apply appropriate assay readouts (e.g., nanoBRET, AlphaLISA, MSD, CellTiter-Glo) in alignment with experimental goals and assay performance requirements.
• Execute phenotypic and lead discovery screening experiments to identify compound hits and support progression through hit-to-lead and lead optimization stages.
• Review and summarize assay and screening data to assess assay quality, identify trends or issues, and support experimental iteration in collaboration with project teams.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Biology, Chemistry, Structural Biology, and Compound Management teams to implement cell-based assays and support compound evaluation for potency, selectivity, and mechanism of action.
• Develop, characterize, and execute novel or adapted cellular assays to support screening and preclinical research needs.
• Communicate scientific progress clearly to the team and contribute to timely project execution.
• Maintain detailed electronic laboratory notebook records, draft experimental protocols, summarize assay results, and manage reagents and assay materials.

Requirements and Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree with 2-5 years of experience or Master's degree with 0-3 years of experience in biology, biochemistry, chemical biology, or a related field.
• Strong hands-on experience with cell-based assay development, validation, and troubleshooting in a discovery or screening environment.
• Experience executing RNA and DNA transfection protocols.
• Familiarity with standard tools for reviewing, visualizing, and summarizing assay and screening data (e.g., GraphPad Prism, Genedata Screener, Vortex).
• Excellent attention to detail with strong organizational, experimental documentation, and time management skills.
• Clear written and verbal communication skills and the ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, collaborative environment.
• Flexible, team-oriented mindset with a demonstrated willingness to learn and adapt.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with automated liquid handling and high-throughput screening platforms (e.g., SPT Dragonfly, Hamilton, Prime, Agilent Bravo, Tecan).
• Experience with high-throughput or phenotypic screening in a discovery setting.
• Exposure to transcriptomic or profiling-based screening approaches (e.g., DRUG-seq, targeted RNA-seq, or related methods).
• Exposure to high-content imaging or other multi-parametric phenotypic assays.
• Experience studying protein-protein interactions, molecular glues, or induced proximity mechanisms.
• Quantitative, detail-oriented experimentalist with a practical understanding of assay quality and basic statistical concepts.

Bayside Solutions, Inc. is not able to sponsor any candidates at this time. Additionally, candidates for this position must qualify as a W2 candidate.

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