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About the Role

We are seeking an accomplished protein biochemist to lead phage display campaigns end-to-end. This role involves designing selection strategies, troubleshooting difficult targets, and generating high-quality datasets for AI antibody design. You will also mentor junior scientists, set technical standards, and collaborate with computational and engineering teams to scale data generation in a fast-paced, innovative environment.

Responsibilities

Independently design, execute, and own phage display campaigns from library through panning and hit validation, across both soluble antigens and membrane-protein targets (e.g., GPCRs) presented in cell-based expression systems or recombinant formats.
Develop and optimize selection strategies for difficult target classes, including troubleshooting antigen production, presentation, and quality control.
Design and build display libraries, applying strong molecular biology fundamentals (cloning, mutagenesis, assembly) to generate high-quality, diverse repertoires.
Design and run clonal-level affinity and functional characterization—including flow cytometry (FACS), ELISA, and SPR—and help adapt these assays to higher-throughput and automated formats.
Partner with computational and ML colleagues to generate, structure, and quality-control data at scale for model training and evaluation.
Mentor associate scientists on display workflows, experimental design, and lab best practices; contribute to technical standards within the group.
Contribute to and lead the preparation of technical reports, presentations, and documentation of methods and results.

Requirements

PhD in Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Immunology, Protein Engineering, or a related field, with 2–4 years of relevant industry experience.
Significant hands-on expertise with antibody/protein discovery by phage display, including library design, build, panning/selection, and hit validation.
Strong molecular biology skills for library construction, including cloning, mutagenesis, and assembly, with the rigor to build high-quality, diverse libraries.
Hands-on flow cytometry (FACS) experience is required, including data interpretation and gating strategy.
Demonstrated ability to run campaigns independently and troubleshoot challenging targets; experience with membrane proteins (e.g., GPCRs) in cell-based expression systems or recombinant formats is strongly preferred.
Strong working knowledge of antibody binding and characterization assays (e.g., ELISA) and proficiency in core molecular and cell biology techniques, including mammalian cell culture.
Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills, with meticulous attention to detail and a rigorous, organized approach to experimental design and documentation.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present complex scientific concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences.
Ability to work effectively in a collaborative, multidisciplinary team, with a track record of fostering knowledge-sharing and supporting more junior colleagues.
Experience with label-free affinity characterization (SPR, BLI/Octet).
Experience with alternative display formats (yeast, mammalian, or ribosome/mRNA display).
Experience with lab automation (e.g., Hamilton, Tecan, or similar liquid handling).
Working knowledge of scripting for analysis of large datasets (e.g., Python or R).

Skills

Phage display
Protein biochemistry
AI drug discovery
Antibody design
Molecular biology
Cloning
Mutagenesis
Assembly
Flow cytometry (FACS)
ELISA
SPR
Mammalian cell culture
Data analysis
Python
R

Location

San Francisco Bay Area
Seattle
London

Work Type

Full-time

Experience Level

2-4 years industry experience
PhD

Education Level

PhD in Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Immunology, Protein Engineering, or a related field

Salary/Compensations

$124,000 to $155,000 annually

Benefits

Competitive compensation and benefits package
Open, flexible, and friendly work environment
Platform to develop long-term careers
Base salary
Bonus
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.

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.