Principal Scientist/Associate Director, Assay Development/In Vitro Pharmacology

About Alltrna

Alltrna is the world’s first tRNA platform company to decipher tRNA biology and pioneer tRNA therapeutics to treat thousands of diseases. Alltrna unlocks tRNA biology to correct disease. The company's platform incorporates AI/ML tools to learn the tRNA language and deliver diverse programmable molecules with broad therapeutic potential. Alltrna has an unprecedented opportunity to advance a single tRNA medicine to unify treatment across a wide range of diseases with the same underlying genetic mutation. Alltrna was founded in 2018 by Flagship Pioneering. For more info, visit www.alltrna.com.

About The Role 

Come join a creative and collaborative team of scientists dedicated to leveraging emerging insights in RNA biology to develop novel classes of oligonucleotide therapeutics to treat human diseases and improve human health. In this role you will play a critical role in the pharmacology group and work closely with internal partners and external collaborators and design, develop, and apply cellular, biochemical and biophysical assays to enable identification of multiple drug candidates for human clinical studies. Please apply if you feel that you can contribute to growing our team and advancing our mission. As an early member of a privately held, well-funded, early-stage platform biotechnology company, you will contribute to the platform development, drug discovery, and translation into the clinic, while also being provided with multiple and varied opportunities for professional growth.  As a member of the Flagship Pioneering ecosystem, you will have the opportunity to engage with and leverage the knowledge of other members of the broader ecosystem.

We are seeking a talented and highly motivated scientist to lead and support a variety of preclinical activities including assay development, disease modeling, and in vitro pharmacology.  In this role, you will deliver innovative and robust assay solutions and contribute to multiple projects and activities in a nimble working environment. This position will interact with Cell & Organismal Biology, Pharmacology, Discovery and other functions across the organization as well as external partners (e.g., CROs and academic laboratories). As a senior member of the team, you will have the opportunity to serve as a project team leader or provide key technical knowledge to project teams.

Core responsibilities

• Design and direct in vitro pharmacology strategy to deliver innovative and robust assay solutions to support various cross-functional projects and Alltrna’s platform as well as therapeutic development
• Responsible for the planning, development, and execution of multiple cell-based assays for assessing tRNA target engagement, efficacy, and potency.
• Develop, manage, and coordinate execution, analysis, and interpretation of robust assays to explore disease biology and mechanism of action (MOA) of Alltrna therapies
• Ensure appropriate data analysis and interpretation to support decision making
• Responsible for effective project management and utilization of internal and external (i.e., CRO) resources
• Mentor, motivate and develop junior scientists and research associates

Qualifications and skills

• PhD in pharmacology, biology, or related field of study with a minimum of 5 years in the biotech or pharmaceutical industry working on cross-functional project teams
• Deep understanding of the drug discovery process, with a track record of defining key compound optimization metrics
• Demonstrated in-depth expertise in molecular and cellular pharmacology with extensive hands-on experience designing, troubleshooting, and implementing functional and cell-based assays to assess efficacy and potency of nucleic acid-based compounds
• Strong data processing and analysis skills covering single point and dose response analyses; ability to share assay data with project teams and research leadership
• Experience in independently developing and testing scientific hypotheses based on human disease pathogenesis and drug MOA in various therapeutic areas
• Excellent organizational skills, attention to accuracy and detail, and the ability to handle multiple projects in parallel
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, capable of conveying scientific information in a concise and effective manner
• Excellent cross-functional collaboration, and interpersonal skills
• Prior experience training, supervising and mentoring RAs and PhD scientists

Preferred skills

• Broad experience with creating in vitro and in vivo genetic disease models
• Knowle