Scientist, Cell Biology & Assay Development

Octant is a clinical-stage drug discovery company developing correctors for protein misfolding diseases. Octant’s platform, The Navigator, combines high-throughput synthetic biology, generative chemistry, and AI/ML to discover and develop therapeutics against complex cellular mechanisms in human cells.

• Design, develop, and validate cell-based assays that characterize small-molecule correctors for Fabry disease and an additional target and verify their target pharmacology, using plate-reader, high-content imaging, and flow cytometry readouts
• Engineer mammalian cell models, including reporter lines, knock-in/knock-out lines, and variant libraries, using cloning and genome engineering, and adapt assays to disease-relevant primary cells
• Characterize corrector response across disease variants at scale using both arrayed and pooled formats, including deep mutational scanning (DMS) with NGS-based readouts
• Transition assays from development into high throughput production - either running them directly or handing them off with clear, reproducible SOPs - to support weekly design-make-test-learn cycles with our chemistry and ML teams
• Analyze, QC, and interpret your data, using AI tools to accelerate analysis, automate workflows, and synthesize the literature
• Contribute to study reports and documentation supporting regulatory submissions, including IND-enabling packages
• Work hand-in-hand with biologists, chemists, machine learning scientists, and automation engineers

• Have a PhD in Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, Chemical Biology, Biochemistry, Bioengineering, Genetics, or a related field, with 0–2 years of postdoctoral or industry experience; an MS with 6+ years of industry experience; or a BS/BA with 8+ years of industry experience
• Have a strong track record of designing mechanistic assays that answer clear biological questions
• Have hands-on experience with some or all of: molecular biology and cloning, mammalian cell culture, and cell engineering (e.g., lentiviral delivery, CRISPR-based editing, stable cell line generation)
• Have developed and run assays in one or more of the following formats: flow cytometry, imaging, plate-reader assays, or NGS-based readouts
• Have experience with high-throughput or pooled screening (e.g., arrayed compound screens, DMS, or CRISPR screens); experience with liquid-handling automation is a plus
• Are familiar with protein folding and trafficking, lysosomal biology, or Fabry disease (a plus, not required)
• Are comfortable analyzing data in Python or R, and actively use AI tools (e.g., LLM assistants and coding agents) for data analysis, workflow generation, and knowledge work
• Keep careful, well-documented records suitable for data that may support regulatory filings
• Enjoy working seamlessly across functions
• Are detail-oriented and thrive in a fast-paced, collaborative, team-oriented startup environment

Optional: Along with your application, please share a paper/preprint/software repo that best highlights your strengths so we can better understand the work you've led. If there is nothing public, please summarize that work in a few paragraphs. We'd love to also hear about things you've been proud to build or lead outside of science.

The expected annual base salary for this role is in the range of $128,000 to $140,000, depending on experience level. We offer competitive medical, dental, and vision coverage, equity, and 401(k) matching.

Octant is located in Emeryville, California and we work onsite.

Octant’s Platform, “The Navigator,” accelerates the design, build, test, and learn iterations across chemistry and biology to build drugs against cellular mechanisms. The Navigator is an expanding set of drug discovery and development capabilities with three interwoven components that operate together:

• Generative Biology – Multiplexed measurements from engineered sensors in human cells to understand cellular mechanisms
• Generative Chemistry – Nanoliter-scale chemical synthesis for rapid exploration of local & targeted chemical space
• Generative AI – ML/AI ingests large-scale biological and chemical datasets and drives iteration of experiments to build better molecules faster

Together, the Navigator platform drives week-to-week progress on our drug programs, generating 3M+ readouts each week across multiple therapeutic areas.