Scientist, Research Scientist, Biotech Research

$36.00-$40.70 per hour

Thousand Oaks, CA

Contract

Duration: 12 months contract

Shift: 9:00 AM–5:00 PM, Monday–Friday.

• The ideal candidate is a hands-on scientist with strong experience developing, optimizing, troubleshooting, and executing cell-based assays using mammalian cell culture systems. Rather than simply having routine cell culture experience, the team is particularly interested in candidates who have used cell-based models to answer research questions, develop assays, generate relevant readouts, and evaluate compounds.

• Strong candidates may bring experience with imaging, plate-based assays, flow cytometry, cell-line development, reagent development, or compound testing and should demonstrate the scientific thinking necessary to troubleshoot challenging experiments and generate high-quality, interpretable data.

• Industry or postdoctoral experience is highly desirable, but the team is flexible on degree level and total years of experience when the candidate has strong, relevant technical capabilities.

• Candidates should be comfortable in a highly hands-on, execution-focused role where project priorities may shift and where they will work against established project objectives rather than independently setting the research direction.

• Client’s Research and Development organization is seeking a motivated Contract Worker Scientist to support emerging discovery programs. This role will establish cell lines and fit-for-purpose cellular assays, then apply these assays to characterize Client compounds and advance mechanistic understanding.

• The successful candidate will be an independent, reliable experimental scientist with strong mammalian cell culture, cell-engineering, and assay-development expertise. They will work closely with a cross-functional team spanning biology, chemistry, and protein science.

• Culture, maintain, and manipulate mammalian cell lines using rigorous cell-culture practices.

• Generate and characterize engineered cell lines using transfection, viral transduction, genome editing, and stable-cell-line selection.

• Develop, optimize, and execute plate-based cell assays for compound screening, hit validation, target engagement, protein modulation, mechanism of action, and cellular health.

• Apply appropriate assay formats, including luminescence-based reporter assays, complementation assays, flow cytometry, immunofluorescence/imaging, western blotting, qPCR, and other fit-for-purpose cellular methods.

• Support imaging-based experiments and quantitative image analysis when needed.

• Plan experiments independently, troubleshoot technical issues, maintain detailed records, analyze data, and communicate results clearly to the broader project team.

• Contribute to the evaluation and prioritization of compounds across multiple early-discovery programs.

• PhD in cell biology, molecular biology, biochemistry, chemical biology, or a related discipline; or

• MS degree in a related discipline with 3–4 years of relevant industry or academic research experience.

• Recent, hands-on mammalian cell culture experience.

• Demonstrated experience with cell engineering, including transient transfection, lentiviral transduction, and generation of stable cell lines.

• Experience developing and running plate-based cellular assays.

• Experience with protein-degradation, target-engagement, or mechanism-of-action studies is strongly preferred.

• Experience with fluorescence or high-content imaging, image analysis, flow cytometry, antibody staining, and immunofluorescence.

• Familiarity with western blotting, qPCR, reporter assays, and high-throughput or medium-throughput compound testing.

• Ability to independently…