Principal Scientist si-RNA Design

Position Summary

The siRNA Design Principal Scientist will play a key role in designing and optimizing therapeutic siRNA against various disease targets from target assessment through lead optimization. Responsibilities include leading drug design strategy, collaborating with AI experts, and ensuring cross‑functional alignment across therapeutic development.

• Lead the drug design strategy for oligonucleotides with a strong focus on siRNAs, leveraging computational and empirical approaches for both proof of concept on novel targets and full‑scale lead optimization for clinical development.
• Guide projects holistically and ensure early design decisions align with late‑stage clinical and manufacturing requirements.
• Develop and invent new advanced chemical modification patterns and sequence selection strategies to optimize the pharmacological properties of siRNAs.
• Work in close partnership with AI experts to develop, validate, and apply AI design solutions; provide ground‑truth biological data and domain expertise to refine machine‑learning models.
• Act as the RNAi subject‑matter expert in collaboration with project teams and disease experts, ensuring alignment across functional boundaries.

• Ph.D. in Molecular Biology, Bioinformatics, Biochemistry, or a related field.
• 5+ years of industry experience specifically in siRNA/RNAi therapeutic design.
• Deep understanding of the RNAi mechanism and profiling of siRNA therapeutics.
• Proven track record in applying chemical modification patterns of siRNA to enhance therapeutic profiles.
• Familiarity with the interface of biology and data science; comfortable discussing parameters and data features with AI engineers.
• Hands‑on experience with command‑line utilities and scripting languages for biological sequence analysis and data management.
• Excellent communication skills, capable of translating complex scientific concepts into clear, actionable insights for diverse audiences.

Roche is an Equal Opportunity Employer.