Senior Research Associate

About Absci

Absci is a clinical-stage biotechnology company advancing novel therapeutics using generative AI. Our Integrated Drug Creation™ platform combines cutting-edge AI models with a synthetic biology data engine, enabling the rapid design of innovative therapeutics that address challenging therapeutic targets.

Absci is a global company headquartered in Vancouver, WA, and maintains offices in New York City, Switzerland, and Serbia. Learn more at www.absci.com or follow us on LinkedIn (@absci), X (@Abscibio), and YouTube.

Senior Research Associate, Pharmacology & Bioassays

Location: Vancouver, WA (Onsite)

Position: Full-Time, Senior Research Associate (Sr. RA)

We are seeking a highly motivated and skilled Senior Research Associate (Sr. RA) to join our Pharmacology & Bioassays team. The successful candidate will play a key role in advancing preclinical drug discovery by executing cell-based assays and cell line engineering for various therapeutic programs. 

This position involves hands-on benchwork and requires experience with primary cell culture, disease-relevant mechanistic assays, mechanisms of action (MoA) assays, and reporter cell-based assays. The role will focus on drug discovery, supporting mechanistic studies, and generating data to guide the progression of Absci’s biologics pipeline.

Key Responsibilities:

• Maintain and culture primary cell types, and run various in-vitro/ex-vivo assays contributing to the development of pharmacology work-packages.
• Contribute to design, development and hands-on execution of in-vitro and ex-vivo disease-relevant assays for MOA studies and therapeutic testing.
• Troubleshoot and refine assays, ensuring reproducibility and robustness in both medium- and high-throughput formats.
• Perform data analysis, interpret and present experimental data at various platforms.
• Collaborate with interdisciplinary teams, including cellular screening to integrate data from cell-based assays and support drug discovery goals.
• Contribute to the preparation of SOPs, study protocols, and data presentations for regulatory and internal purposes.
• Ensure adherence to best practices in assay development, data management, and experimental execution.

Required Qualifications:

• BSc in Biology, Cell Biology, Immunology, Biotechnology, or related field with 5+ years of industry experience in cell-based assays and primary cell culture work, OR MSc with 3+ years of relevant industry experience.
• Hands-on experience in primary cell culture, including immune cells (PBMCs, T-cells, NK cells), cancer cell lines, and other disease-relevant models.
• Experience in mechanistic assays, such as MoA assays, ligand-binding assays, ADCC, CDC, ADCP, and cellular uptake assays.
• Experience in reporter cell-based assays, with the ability to develop and implement these assays.
• Experience with flow cytometry, ELISA, Western blot, qPCR, and multiplexing technologies.
• Proficiency in data analysis software such as GraphPad Prism, SoftMax Pro to interpret and visualize experimental results.
• Ability to troubleshoot assays, ensuring high-quality and reproducible data.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to present data effectively to a variety of stakeholders and contribute to decision-making.
• Strong organizational skills, with the ability to prioritize tasks and manage multiple projects simultaneously.
• Demonstrated success working in a matrixed, highly collaborative team environment, contributing to both individual and team goals.

How We Thrive Together: Absci’s Core  Values 

• We Believe in the Impossible
• We are one team with one finish line
• We embrace our differences
• We deliver Results
• We do the right thing
• Innovate because lives depend on it.

Compensation