Director​/Senior Director, Antibody Discovery Lab Science San Mateo, CA

Director/Senior Director, Antibody Discovery

Department: Lab Science

Employment Type: Permanent

Location: San Mateo, CA

The Role: Big Hat is seeking an exceptional and highly experienced individual for a position as Director/Senior Director of Antibody Discovery. This individual will lead the company’s antibody discovery and display function. They will be responsible for conceiving of and leading multi-year team and technology strategy as well as managing routine operational execution for identification and maturation of high-quality antibodies across antigen types for both Big Hat and Big Hat-partnered therapeutic research programs.

• Lead Big Hat’s antibody discovery and display functions, setting the scientific, technical, and strategic direction
• Oversee the routine execution of display-based selection campaigns to enhance and diversify affinity, develop ability, and function across diverse antibody formats and antigen types in support of Big Hat and Big Hat-partnered therapeutic programs
• Manage and mentor a team of scientists responsible for antibody library design, generation, screening, selection, and early optimization
• Shape and expand Big Hat’s antibody discovery technologies and capabilities, including new display and selection methods, library design strategies, and technical approaches that leverage and enhance the company’s integrated experimental and computational platform
• Provide scientific leadership across discovery and early optimization efforts, ensuring antibodies emerging from selections possess strong functional and develop ability characteristics
• Work closely with leaders in Protein Sciences, Data Science/Machine Learning, Engineering, and Platform groups to ensure seamless progression from discovery through characterization and optimization
• Collaborate with biology and therapeutic research leads to ensure display outputs align with and advance program objectives
• Foster a collaborative and high-performance culture within the discovery organization

• Ph.D. in molecular biology, biochemistry, protein engineering, or related discipline with 12+ years of experience in antibody discovery and engineering within academia, biotechnology, or pharmaceutical industries
• 8+ years of managerial experience leading scientific teams
• Strong expertise with protein display systems such as yeast, phage, mammalian, or mRNA display
• Demonstrated experience with antibody library design, construction, screening, and selection analysis
• Deep understanding of antibody structure-function relationships and mechanisms of antigen recognition
• Experience integrating antibody discovery workflows with downstream characterization and develop ability assessment, including functional screening and biophysical evaluation of antibody candidates
• Familiarity with computational or ML-enabled approaches to protein design and optimization
• Experience advancing biologics from early discovery through lead optimization stages
• Knowledge of diverse antibody modalities including multispecific antibodies, antibody fragments, and other advanced formats
• Strong leadership skills with experience building and mentoring scientific teams
• Strategic thinker capable of aligning discovery activities with broader company goals
• Excellent communication and cross-functional collaboration skills
• Self-motivated and comfortable working in a fast-paced startup environment
• Must be willing to work onsite 5 days per week

The salary estimated for this position is $230,000 - $270,000 + bonus + options + benefits. Compensation will vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Actual compensation will be confirmed in writing at the time of the offer.

What Big Hat Offers:

• Range of health insurance plan options through Anthem and Kaiser (monthly credit if benefit waived)
• Dental, and vision coverage through Guardian
• Additional well-being benefits through Nayya, One Medical, Wagmo, Rula, and more
• 401(k) with company match
• DTO, two weeks of company-wide shutdown, and 12 company holidays
• Paid parental leave