Director GPCR Discovery Job Irvine area,California USA,Research/Development

Walker Cole International is exclusively supporting a well-funded, AI-driven antibody discovery organisation in the search for a GPCR Biologist (Principal Scientist through to Snr Director), based on-site in Irvine, California. This is a fantastic opportunity to join the business during a period of rapid growth following a significant funding round, taking ownership of GPCR target strategy and antigen enablement across the antibody pipeline while shaping how AI-driven design is applied to one of the most valuable and challenging target classes in drug discovery.

Your

responsibilities as the GPCR Biologist will include:

Lead GPCR target strategy across immunology, cardiometabolic and CNS programmes, translating receptor biology and pharmacology into clear antibody discovery plans.
Design and deliver GPCR antigen strategies, including conformationally stabilised receptors and nanodisc, VLP and cell-based formats for immunisation and screening.
Develop and run functional pharmacology assays (cAMP, β-arrestin, calcium flux, radioligand binding) to define the agonist, antagonist or allosteric mechanism of antibody leads.
Partner with in-house antibody engineering and computational teams to generate high-quality, ML-ready datasets that feed directly into the company’s AI design platform.
Select and manage CRO partners for receptor expression, signalling screens and structural work, including cryo-EM of antibody-receptor complexes, owning quality and timelines.
Act as the company’s GPCR subject matter expert, contributing to target nomination, lead selection and candidate selection decisions.

The successful candidate will demonstrate the following:

PhD in biochemistry, pharmacology, structural biology or a related discipline, with substantial industry experience on GPCR or other membrane protein targets.
Deep expertise in GPCR biology and pharmacology, including G-protein and β-arrestin signalling, receptor conformational states and biased or allosteric modulation.
A track record of enabling or advancing antibody or biologics discovery against GPCRs, from antigen design through to lead or candidate selection.
A hands-on, entrepreneurial approach, comfortable working independently in a lean, fast-moving environment without large-company infrastructure.
Genuine enthusiasm for AI- and data-driven discovery, ideally with experience collaborating with machine learning or computational teams.
Based in, or willing to relocate to, Irvine, California for an on-site role.