What are the responsibilities and job description for the Scientist / Senior Scientist, RNA Therapeutics position at Capable Labs?
About the Role
You’ll work closely with the founders and a small team from MIT, Harvard Medical School, Baker Lab, and Radical Numerics. For the right person, this will likely be one of the steepest learning curves of their career.
This is a place where your role can change every few months. If you show strong judgment, you will get increased scope quickly—whether it’s a new workflow, a new modality, a new program, or a new mission-critical task to own. We’ll give you context, trust, and the resources to move fast.
You would be a founding member of Capable Labs’ RNA program and one of the first people building this capability within the company. Your role will be mission-critical to the success of the program.
What You'll Do
Design ASOs, siRNAs, splice-switching oligos, gapmers, steric-blocking oligos, and other RNA-targeting molecules against key targets.
Select oligo chemistry (e.g., phosphorothioate backbone, 2'-MOE, 2'-OMe, LNA, cEt, PMO, GalNAc conjugation, lipid conjugation) based on tissue, mechanism, potency, durability, and safety.
Develop core sequence strategies for RNase H knockdown, splice modulation, translation blocking, miRNA inhibition, transcript stabilization, or other RNA-level mechanisms.
Build and refine design rules around potency, specificity, GC content, secondary structure, isoform selectivity, SNPs, conservation, off-target risk, immune activation, and manufacturability.
Source, synthesize, purify, and quality control oligos using HPLC/UPLC, LC-MS, MALDI, UV quantification, PAGE, endotoxin/bioburden testing, and batch-level analytical tracking.
Run in vitro validations: cell uptake, transfection/free uptake, dose response, time course, target knockdown or splice correction, RNA-seq/qPCR/ddPCR, protein and pathway readouts, and phenotype assessment.
Evaluate developability: serum stability, nuclease resistance, plasma protein binding, solubility, aggregation, cellular toxicity, innate immune activation, complement risk, and other sequence-dependent liabilities.
Design in vivo studies to measure exposure, tissue distribution, target engagement, duration of effect, tolerability, and phenotypic outcomes.
Analyze PK/PD and efficacy data to decide on next steps regarding sequence, chemistry, conjugate, tissue, dose, and schedule.
Build the full ASO program package: target rationale, sequence set, chemistry plan, assay strategy, QC data, in vitro and in vivo results, failure modes, and next-step logic.
Who You Are
Hands-on experience with RNA therapeutics, ASOs, siRNA, splice-switching oligos, RNA biology, nucleic acid chemistry, pharmacology, or closely related work.
Able to reason from target biology to oligo design to assay readout: choosing the right transcript, mechanism, chemistry, and knowing what data will validate your efforts.
Comfortable designing and interpreting assays that validate RNA therapeutics, including target knockdown or splice correction, transcript and protein-level readouts, pathway modulation, cell viability, immune activation, and in vivo tissue target engagement.
Experience with qPCR, ddPCR, RNA-seq, western blot, ELISA, reporter assays, splice assays, cytokine panels, or tissue analysis is helpful.
Work efficiently while maintaining scientific rigor.
Proactive and resourceful: when the program needs sequences designed, oligos ordered, assays developed, cell models identified, tissue analyzed, or outside expertise brought in, you help move the work forward.
Pay and Benefits
$135,000–$180,000 annual salary, plus at least $50,000–$200,000 worth of equity options
Compensation is based on qualifications, skills, competencies, and experience
Visa sponsorship available, if necessary
Wellness budget: $500 per month (training, supplements, personal trainers, etc.)
Comprehensive healthcare coverage with a range of medical options
Application Process
Initial application
First phone screen
Second phone screen (approx. 30 minutes)
In-person work trial in San Francisco
Apply Today
Applying takes just 5 minutes. We encourage you to apply as soon as possible. We're evaluating candidates on a rolling basis and want to make an offer quickly.
Compensation Range: $135K - $180K
Salary : $50,000 - $200,000