Senior Scientist, In Vitro Biology

What if… you could join an organization that creates, resources, and builds life sciences companies that invent breakthrough technologies in order to transform health care and sustainability?

Montai Health is a privately held, early-stage biotechnology company developing a platform for understanding and leveraging complex molecular interactions within organisms to solve global challenges in human health and sustainability. The company leverages a multidisciplinary approach that integrates tools ranging from machine learning and big data to multi-omics and high-throughput screening.

At Montai, we nurture a bold, spirited and leading-edge culture dedicated to strengthening human health:

• We are one team with omnidirectional trust, empowered and accountable
• We are strong as individuals but stronger as a team and we are committed to excellence
• We have a sense of urgency and persistence and we are crazily confident that we can make a difference
• We need to be comfortable with the uncomfortable and be rigorous and we recognize that failure is data
• We care for diversity in people, thought, personality, opinions, background and distinctiveness
• We have a sense of humor to help us manage through our strategic noise

Montai is seeking an experienced and highly motivated immunologist at the Senior Scientist Scientist level (title commensurate with experience) to join the In Vitro Platform Biology team, reporting to the head of Platform Biology.

This individual will drive high throughput screening and support hit-to-lead in vitro biology assays to expand Montai’s proprietary AI/ML platform and advance pipeline projects. The successful candidate will have substantial experience with small molecule drug discovery projects in immunology-related therapeutic areas and managing external HTS and in vitro assay work at CROs. Primary responsibilities include developing and deploying screening assays and delivering data to cross-functional bio/chem/ML project teams to bring innovative small molecule therapeutics to patients.

The ideal candidate will enjoy working in a collaborative, innovative and fast-paced biopharmaceutical environment. Skills should include a high degree of problem-solving ability as well as excellent communication skills.

Key Responsibilities:

• Provide strategic and technical oversight of development, validation and execution of in vitro HTS assays with external research partners at CROs
• Analyze and compile screening data into Montai databases, and communicate results to diverse stakeholders to drive project decisions and progression
• Identify and execute target relevant screening strategies to support lead validation (at CROs).
• Provide immunology subject matter expertise to support broader efforts in target & indication prioritization, experimental approaches and project strategy
• Preparing, reviewing and presenting scientific presentations for internal/external use
• Work effectively with the leadership team to ensure timely advancement of projects to meet timelines

Qualifications:

• PhD in immunology preferred although biology, pharmacology or a related scientific discipline would be considered with drug-discovery experience in inflammatory and immunological diseases
• 5+ years of industry experience in small molecule drug discovery-related activities, experience in small start-up is preferred
• Significant experience independently managing external research projects with CROs
• Extensive experience with high-throughput screening methodologies and data analysis
• Strong expertise and research track record in innate and adaptive immune biology, signaling pathways, and immune functions in healthy and diseased states including chronic inflammatory and autoimmune conditions
• Excellent ability to efficiently communicate (written and verbally) complex and technical content to diverse stakeholders
• Self-starter who thrives in collaborative interdisciplinary teams, is unafraid to ask difficult questions, is eager to learn new biology/technology and is passionate about delivering medicines to patients suffering with chronic diseases

Flagship Pioneering has conceived of and created companies such as Moderna Therapeutics (NASDAQ: MRNA), Editas Medicine (NASDAQ: EDIT), Omega Therapeutics (NASDAQ: OMGA), Seres Therapeutics (NASDAQ: MCRB), and Indigo Agriculture. Since its launch in 2000, Flagship has applied its unique hypothesis-driven innovation process to originate and foster more than 100 scientific ventures. In 2021, Flagship Pioneering was ranked 12th globally on Fortune’s “Change the World” list, an annual ranking of companies that have made a positive social and environmental impact through activities that are part of