Scientist I

Cytokinetics • Fulltime • San Bruno, CA, USA, United States • $128k - $156k / year • 3m ago

Cytokinetics is a late-stage, specialty cardiovascular biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing first-in-class muscle activators and next-in-class muscle inhibitors as potential treatments for debilitating diseases in which cardiac muscle performance is compromised. As a leader in muscle biology and the mechanics of muscle performance, the company is developing small molecule drug candidates specifically engineered to impact myocardial muscle function and contractility.

We are seeking a talented individual to provide scientific & technical leadership in biophysical and biochemical assay approaches to support the elucidation of structural mechanisms of protein function and interaction with other biomolecules & synthetic ligands. The ideal candidate will have previous hands-on experience in acquiring, analyzing & interpreting complex kinetic data from various biophysical techniques. The successful candidate will report to the head of Biology Technologies and will partner with colleagues in structural biology, chemistry and external collaborators to advance a diverse portfolio of targets.

Responsibilities:

Develop and execute label-free biophysical and biochemical assays to enable characterization of molecular interactions between proteins, ligands, DNA & other biomolecules
Collaborate with structural biologists and assay developers to define protein construct strategies and implement reagent generation plans
Characterize the affinity and kinetics of interactions between endogenous & synthetic ligands and their putative binding pockets on challenging drug targets, including membrane proteins and multiprotein complexes involved in signal transduction
Elucidate molecular mechanisms of enzymes and their functionally-relevant interactions with substrates, co-factors & pharmacological modulators
Conduct fragment screening campaigns and facilitate the rational design of therapeutic agents by advancing the understanding of structure-activity relationships of novel chemical series
Maximize productivity and throughput by streamlining biophysical assay processes & workflows and by leveraging the capabilities of automated instrumentation and liquid-handlers
Contribute to the optimization of an informatics system for registering biophysical data & results in internal databases
Document accurate records of experimental procedures, results, data analysis & interpretation and present findings to cross-functional project teams and research leadership
Maintain current knowledge of advances in biophysical & label-free techniques and contribute to the identification, evaluation & implementation of new enabling technologies and methodologies

Qualifications:

PhD in biophysics, biochemistry or a related scientific discipline with 2+ years of impactful experience in the pharmaceutical / biotechnology industry
Highly skilled in quantifying the affinity and kinetics of molecular interactions between proteins, ligands & biomolecules by SPR, ITC, MST, BLI
Hands-on experience in operating and maintaining the performance of biophysical assay platforms from Cytiva (eg, Biacore T200, 8K+) or NanoTemper (eg, Dianthus, Monolith) or Sartorius (eg, Octet)
Expertise in assessing aggregation, sizing and thermal stability of proteins expressed by a variety of mammalian & non-mammalian systems and an understanding of the development of fluorescence-based binding assays for profiling small molecules
Well-versed in experiment design with ability to analyze and interpret complex kinetic and mechanistic data
Strong background in molecular biology with experience purifying native or recombinant proteins of interest, including membrane proteins and multiprotein complexes
Highly-organized and productive with excellent analytical, problem-solving & communication skills coupled with an ability to work collaboratively with colleagues in multiple disciplines including structural biology and chemistry

Actual salary at the time of hire may vary and may be above or below the range based on various factors, including, but not limited to, the candidate’s relevant qualifications, skills, and experience, as well as the service line and location where this position may be filled.

Salary Pay Range

$128,000—$156,000 USD

Our employees come from different backgrounds, and we celebrate those differences. We are looking for the best candidates for our open roles, but do not expect applicants to meet every qualification in order to be considered. If you are excited about what you could accomplish at Cytokinetics and believe you can add value to our team, we would love to hear from you.

Please review our General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) policy PRIOR to applying.

Our passion is anchored in robust scientific thinking, grounded in integrity and critical thinking. We keep the patient front and center in all we do – all actions and decisions are in service of the patient and their caregivers. We champion integrity, ethics, doing the right thing, and being our best selves.

Please visit our website at: www.cytokinetics.com

Cytokinetics is an Equal Opportunity Employer