Location: Thousand Oaks, CA
Work Arrangement: 100% onsite
Schedule: Monday Friday, approximately 9:00 AM 5:00 PM
Weekend/Overtime: Not anticipated
Contract Duration: Approximately 12 months
Relocation: Candidates requiring relocation may be considered, provided they are willing to relocate at their own expense.
The ideal candidate is a hands-on scientist with strong experience developing, optimizing, troubleshooting, and executing cell-based assays using mammalian cell culture systems. Rather than simply having routine cell culture experience, the team is particularly interested in candidates who have used cell-based models to answer research questions, develop assays, generate relevant readouts, and evaluate compounds. Strong candidates may bring experience with imaging, plate-based assays, flow cytometry, cell-line development, reagent development, or compound testing and should demonstrate the scientific thinking necessary to troubleshoot challenging experiments and generate high-quality, interpretable data. Industry or postdoctoral experience is highly desirable, but the team is flexible on degree level and total years of experience when the candidate has strong, relevant technical capabilities. Candidates should be comfortable in a highly hands-on, execution-focused role where project priorities may shift and where they will work against established project objectives rather than independently setting the research direction.
Contract Worker Scientist Cell Biology and Assay Development
*** s Research and Development organization is seeking a motivated Contract Worker Scientist to support emerging discovery programs. This role will establish cell lines and fit-for-purpose cellular assays, then apply these assays to characterize Client compounds and advance mechanistic understanding.
The successful candidate will be an independent, reliable experimental scientist with strong mammalian cell culture, cell-engineering, and assay-development expertise. They will work closely with a cross-functional team spanning biology, chemistry, and protein science.
Key Responsibilities
Culture, maintain, and manipulate mammalian cell lines using rigorous cell-culture practices.
Generate and characterize engineered cell lines using transfection, viral transduction, genome editing, and stable-cell-line selection.
Develop, optimize, and execute plate-based cell assays for compound screening, hit validation, target engagement, protein modulation, mechanism of action, and cellular health.
Apply appropriate assay formats, including luminescence-based reporter assays, complementation assays, flow cytometry, immunofluorescence/imaging, western blotting, qPCR, and other fit-for-purpose cellular methods.
Support imaging-based experiments and quantitative image analysis when needed.
Plan experiments independently, troubleshoot technical issues, maintain detailed records, analyze data, and communicate results clearly to the broader project team.
Contribute to the evaluation and prioritization of compounds across multiple early-discovery programs.
Basic Qualifications
PhD in cell biology, molecular biology, biochemistry, chemical biology, or a related discipline; or
MS degree in a related discipline with 3 4 years of relevant industry or academic research experience.
Preferred Qualifications
Recent, hands-on mammalian cell culture experience.
Demonstrated experience with cell engineering, including transient transfection, lentiviral transduction, and generation of stable cell lines.
Experience developing and running plate-based cellular assays.
Experience with protein-degradation, target-engagement, or mechanism-of-action studies is strongly preferred.
Experience with fluorescence or high-content imaging, image analysis, flow cytometry, antibody staining, and immunofluorescence.
Familiarity with western blotting, qPCR, reporter assays, and high-throughput or medium-throughput compound testing.
Ability to independently prioritize day-to-day experimental work, generate high-quality data, and troubleshoot without frequent supervision.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, attention to detail, and ability to work effectively in a collaborative team environment.