Scientist

Modern chemistry has failed us.

Yes, it’s delivered many remarkable medicines — a cure for hepatitis C, small molecules that enable people with cystic fibrosis to live full lives, and cancer drugs that have turned once-terminal diagnoses into manageable conditions. But these represent still just a fraction of what’s possible.

Most diseases — especially the most complex, like neurodegeneration — remain completely untreatable. The problem isn’t that we lack targets. It’s that conventional small molecules can’t engage them, or modulate them in the ways biology demands.

We need new chemistry — modalities that don’t just inhibit or activate, but rewire biology through induced proximity to create entirely new functions. This is the future of small molecules. And we need to bring this future into the present, fast.

At Birdwood, we’re building a discovery engine for cooperative small molecules that unlock mechanisms traditional chemistry simply can’t touch. We’re a small team of chemical biologists working ambitiously at the edge of what’s possible. Backed by top-tier investors like Fifty Years, we’re moving fast to scale our platform, validate new recruitment pairs, and unlock new classes of proximity-based therapeutics for historically intractable diseases.

We’re now hiring our first scientist to help build this future. You’ll take the lead on developing an executing key discovery assays, validating proximity-inducing compounds, and driving our lead programs forward. You’ll work side by side with the founder to help lay the scientific foundation of a company aiming to redefine what small molecules are capable of.

You must move fast.

Our mission requires operating at 3x the speed that most competent people think possible.

This role may be perfect for you if:

• You thrive while building from the ground up — where progress depends on creativity, speed, and a high tolerance for ambiguity
• You think the pace of drug discovery today is entirely unacceptable — and you’re here to make it 10x faster
• You’re driven by impactful science, not titles or publications

What you’ll do

• Develop, optimize, and scale our core platform — an ultra high-throughput, lysate-compatible screening assay for discovering proximity-inducing small molecules
• Design and execute biochemical and cell-based experiments to evaluate and develop novel induced proximity mechanisms
• Quantify ternary complex formation using a range of techniques such as TR-FRET, qPCR, and other biochemical readouts
• Work with CROs and internal team members to support hit validation and follow-up studies

What you need to succeed

• Direct experience working with molecular glues/bifunctionals
• Strong track record in assay development, protein interaction biology, or molecular screening
• Proficiency in core molecular biology and cell culture techniques
• Experience with biochemical assays, genetic perturbation methods in cells, and cell-based phenotypic screening
• Extreme scientific rigor: reproducibility, documentation, clear interpretation, and attention to controls
• Ability to operate highly independently and drive programs forward in high ambiguity environments
• Familiarity with induced proximity pharmacology, or a strong motivation to master it quickly

Nice to have

• Experience with CNS-relevant model systems (e.g., neuronal cell culture, iPSC or organoid models)
• Demonstrated ability scaling experimental platforms — building high-throughput or multiplexed workflows from scratch

Benefits

• Competitive pay and strong equity incentives: we believe deeply in ownership. If you’re helping to build Birdwood from the ground up, you deserve to participate meaningfully in its success.
• Full health, dental, and vision coverage
• Lab and office space at MBC BioLabs, San Carlos
• We move fast, care deeply, and aim for impossible goals