The Opportunity

The heart of insitro's strategy is the development of novel, innovative methods in machine learning and high-throughput biology that address key bottlenecks in the drug development pipeline. Neurodegenerative diseases in particular are an area of great potential to derive therapeutic benefit for patients using insitro's platform. The Associate Scientist III/Scientist I, Neuroscience will partner with scientific and project teammates to develop and execute mid/high throughput biochemical/cellular assays, in vitro mechanistic experimentation, and explore novel models to advance early targets through our pipeline. The candidate will work closely with a team of multidisciplinary scientists, automation and software and machine learning engineers to enable key assays/models for target validation and prosecution toward drug development goals. We value a highly collaborative working style centered on effective communication to drive results at a fearless pace. If you are a highly motivated individual and teammate with a strong desire to impact patients in diseases related to neuroscience, we invite you to consider joining our team.

This position requires you to be in our South San Francisco headquarters five days per week.

Primary Responsibilities

• Develop, optimize, and perform cellular assays to support the Neuroscience therapeutic area.
• Culture iPSC-derived cell-types related to your neurological models.
• Maintain accurate documentation of experiments in electronic lab notebook (ELN) and follow all laboratory training and safety requirements
• Evaluate and implement new enabling technologies and methodologies related to assay development and target validation packages.
• Collaborate with colleagues on multi-disciplinary project teams to provide scientific/technical contributions and deliver project goals

About You

• A PhD with one (1) year of experience or BS/MS in Biochemistry, Cell Biology, Pharmacology or a relevant scientific field, with a minimum of five (5) years of drug discovery experience in a biotech/pharmaceutical setting
• Experience with the development and execution of cellular assays at mid and high throughput scale, using a wide range of experimental methods and detection technologies including advanced microscopy, immunoassays (IF, ELISA, Biochemical), functional assays (Electrophysiology, MEA, Calcium Imaging).
• Experience in high throughput imaging and assay development from image based systems.
• Demonstrated ability to work in cross-functional teams to advance drug discovery, with excellent organization and communication skills

Nice to Have

• Experience and knowledge of neurological and psychiatric disorders and in vitromodels with an emphasis on epileptic, neurodegenerative, and cognitive disorders
• Experience with analysis scripts in python, R and collaborative platforms such as jupyter notebooks.
• Experience with molecular biology and functional genomics techniques such as CRISPR and siRNA.
• Hands-on experience with high throughput automated cell culture and dosing equipment (Echo, Plate washers, Certus, Hamilton, etc), interaction with automation engineers a plus.

Compensation & Benefits at insitro

Our target starting salary for successful US-based applicants for this role is $105,000-$135,000. To determine starting pay, we consider multiple job-related factors including a candidate's skills, education and experience, market demand, business needs, and internal parity. We may also adjust this range in the future based on market data.

This role is eligible for participation in our Annual Performance Bonus Plan (based on company targets by role level and annual company performance) and our Equity Incentive Plan, subject to the terms of those plans and associated policies.

In addition, insitro also provides our employees:

• 401(k) plan with employer matching for contributions
• Excellent medical, dental, and vision coverage (insitro pays 100% of premiums for employees on our base plans), as well as mental health and well-being support
• Open, flexible vacation policy
• Paid parental leave
• Quarterly budget for books and online courses for self-development
• Support to occasionally attend professional conferences that are meaningful to your career growth and development
• New hire stipend for home office setup
• Monthly cell phone & internet stipend
• Access to free onsite baristas and cafe with daily lunch and breakfast
• Access to free onsite fitness center
• Commuter benefits

insitro is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.

We believe diversity, equity, and inclusion need to be at the foundation of our culture. We work hard to bring together diverse teams–grounded in a wide range of expertise and life experiences–and work even harder to ensure those teams thrive in inclusive, growth-oriented environments supported by equitable company and team practices. All candidates can expect equitable treatment, respect, and fairness throughout the interview process.

#LI-Onsite