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About the Role

As a member of the Protein Engineering team, you will play a critical role in the discovery and development of next-generation protein therapeutics. You will be responsible for designing, producing, and characterizing proteins and antibodies, with an emphasis on engineering desired functions and evaluating drug-like properties. The ideal candidate will bring deep technical expertise in protein engineering, a strong understanding of antibody formats and developability metrics, and a collaborative mindset. This is a hands-on, on-site position.

Responsibilities

Partner with Disease Biology and Therapeutic Binder Design teams to evaluate new targets, define therapeutic hypotheses and target molecule profiles, and plan and coordinate the execution of drug discovery programs.
Design and carry out protein engineering efforts, including antibody format optimization and antigen design.
Express, purify, and characterize tool and therapeutic antibodies and proteins using chromatographic techniques and biophysical/biochemical assays.
Assess the developability profile of therapeutic molecules (e.g., stability, specificity, immunogenicity) by in silico and analytical methods.
Collaborate with computational protein design, screening, protein science, pharmacology and biology teams to advance programs toward clinical development.
Collaborate with computational teams and provide clear articulation of biological constraints including immunogenicity and manufacturability.
Present data at protein engineering group meetings and at cross-functional team meetings.
Maintain accurate, timely, and well-documented experiment records in ELN.
Ensure compliance with laboratory safety protocols; contribute to lab organization and operational efficiency.
Contribute to the preparation of technical reports, regulatory documentation, and scientific presentations.
Stay current on advancements in antibody engineering and protein design.
Mentor and develop junior scientific staff to foster a high-performing and collaborative team.
Manage and oversee CROs for outsourced protein production, assay development, and screening, ensuring data quality and timely delivery.

Requirements

Ph.D. in a relevant scientific discipline, with a strong foundation in molecular biology, biochemistry, structural biology, or a related field.
Minimum of 4 years of post-academic experience in a biotech or biopharma R&D environment supporting large molecule-based therapeutic programs.
Extensive hands-on experience in protein engineering, including structural and functional characterization of antibodies and proteins using state-of-the-art analytical methods.
Deep expertise in antibody formats, production, purification, and characterization.
Proficiency in developability assessments and stability studies.
Fluency with protein visualization and structural modeling software (e.g., PyMOL, AlphaFold).
Experience with protein/protein interaction assays is preferred.
Experience interacting with CMC and writing IND reports is preferred.
Strong organizational, communication, and interpersonal skills.
Ability to propose novel scientific approaches and a genuine interest in exploring relevant therapeutic hypotheses.
Proactive, self-starter mindset with excellent problem-solving and troubleshooting capabilities.
Enthusiasm for working in a fast-paced, collaborative startup environment, with a demonstrated ability to foster cooperation and knowledge sharing across multidisciplinary teams.
A strong record of scientific achievement as evidenced by first-author publications in peer-reviewed journals or granted patents.

Skills

Protein engineering
Antibody formats
Developability metrics
Antibody format optimization
Antigen design
Protein expression
Protein purification
Protein characterization
Chromatographic techniques
Biophysical assays
Biochemical assays
Developability assessments
Stability studies
In silico methods
Analytical methods
Protein visualization software
Structural modeling software
PyMOL
AlphaFold
Protein/protein interaction assays
CMC interaction
IND report writing
Scientific communication
Interpersonal skills
Problem-solving
Troubleshooting
Collaboration
Knowledge sharing

Location

San Francisco Bay Area
Seattle
London

Work Type

On-site
Full-time

Experience Level

4 years of post-academic experience

Education Level

Ph.D.

Salary/Compensations

$150,000 to $170,000 annually

Benefits

Competitive compensation and benefits package
Open, flexible, and friendly work environment
Platform to develop long-term careers
Summary of Benefits available
Competitive package including base salary, bonus, and equity

About the Company

Xaira is an innovative biotech startup focused on leveraging AI to transform drug discovery and development.
The company is leading the development of generative AI models to design protein and antibody therapeutics, enabling the creation of medicines against historically hard-to-drug molecular targets.
It is also developing foundation models for biology and disease to enable better target elucidation and patient stratification.
Collectively, these technologies aim to continually enable the identification of novel therapies and to improve success in drug development.
Xaira is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, and London.

Equal Opportunity

Xaira Therapeutics an equal-opportunity employer.
We believe that our strength is in our differences.
Our goal to build a diverse and inclusive team began on day one, and it will never end.