Demo

Associate Scientist, Oligonucleotide Chemistry & Delivery

Denali Therapeutics
South San Francisco, CA Full Time
POSTED ON 5/23/2026
AVAILABLE BEFORE 7/7/2026
Neurodegenerative diseases are one of the largest medical challenges of our time. Denali Therapeutics is a biotechnology company dedicated to developing breakthrough therapies for neurodegenerative diseases through our deep commitment to degeneration biology and principles of translational medicine. Denali is founded on the collaboration of leading scientists, industry experts, and investors who share the vision that scientific discovery energetically applied to translational medicine is the key to delivering effective therapies to patients.

We invite you to consider an opportunity with Denali to help achieve our goal of delivering meaningful therapeutics to patients.

This role will apply oligonucleotide chemistry and bioconjugation expertise to advance novel therapeutics within our Oligonucleotide Transport Vehicle (OTV) platform. This is an exciting and unique opportunity to contribute to several programs and position us for the future as our groundbreaking OTV therapeutics enter the clinical phase.

Key Accountabilities/Core Job Responsibilities

  • Design, synthesize, purify, and characterize oligonucleotide therapeutics, including siRNA/ASOs, in support of early discovery OTV programs.
  • Design and generate antibody-oligonucleotide conjugates to support targeted delivery of siRNA/ASOs using established and emerging bioconjugation technologies.
  • Support high-throughput and mid-scale oligonucleotide synthesis activities, including the evaluation of novel chemistries, modifications, and workflow innovations to enable rapid discovery-stage generation of siRNA/ASOs and bioconjugates within one or more preclinical drug discovery programs.
  • Develop, refine, and troubleshoot oligonucleotide synthesis, bioconjugation, purification, and analytical methods in support of new biotherapeutic designs.
  • Apply analytical technologies, including UV–Vis spectrophotometry, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), mass spectrometry (MS), multi-angle light scattering (MALS), and other orthogonal characterization techniques, to analyze, purify, quantify, and characterize oligonucleotides and bioconjugates.
  • Interpret in vitro and in vivo experimental data to generate structure-activity relationships (SAR) informing iterative experiment design and ultimately advancing preclinical candidate nomination.
  • Collaborate closely with cross-functional partners across Biology, Protein Sciences, Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics (DMPK), and related functions to advance drug discovery objectives and support program progression.
  • Maintain accurate, complete, and timely documentation of experimental data in electronic laboratory notebooks.
  • Communicate scientific results, technical insights, and recommendations clearly in team meetings and cross-functional discussions.
  • Contribute to a collaborative, innovative, and scientifically rigorous research environment.

Qualifications/Skills

  • Typically requires a minimum of 2 years of related experience with a Bachelor’s degree; or 1 years and a Master’s degree
  • Strong hands-on experience in oligonucleotide synthesis, purification, and characterization, including siRNA/ASOs.
  • Experience with bioconjugation chemistry and analytical characterization of oligonucleotide conjugates.
  • Demonstrated ability to develop and troubleshoot experimental workflows and to independently design, execute, and interpret experiments in a discovery research setting.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to work effectively in a collaborative, multidisciplinary team.

Salary Range: $106,000.00 to $138,000.00 . Compensation for the role will depend on a number of factors, including a candidate’s qualifications, skills, competencies, and experience. Denali offers a competitive total rewards package, which includes a 401k, healthcare coverage, ESPP and a broad range of other benefits. Learn more at https://www.denalitherapeutics.com/careers

This compensation and benefits information is based on Denali’s good faith estimate as of the date of publication and may be modified in the future.

Denali is committed to its core company value of unity by creating a diverse and inclusive environment. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, status as a veteran, basis of disability, or any other federal, state, or local protected class.

Salary : $106,000 - $138,000

If your compensation planning software is too rigid to deploy winning incentive strategies, it’s time to find an adaptable solution. Compensation Planning
Enhance your organization's compensation strategy with salary data sets that HR and team managers can use to pay your staff right. Surveys & Data Sets

What is the career path for a Associate Scientist, Oligonucleotide Chemistry & Delivery?

Sign up to receive alerts about other jobs on the Associate Scientist, Oligonucleotide Chemistry & Delivery career path by checking the boxes next to the positions that interest you.
Income Estimation: 
$99,598 - $128,732
Income Estimation: 
$101,850 - $147,372
Income Estimation: 
$82,394 - $101,811
Income Estimation: 
$86,266 - $138,642
Income Estimation: 
$128,588 - $163,256
Employees: Get a Salary Increase
View Core, Job Family, and Industry Job Skills and Competency Data for more than 15,000 Job Titles Skills Library

Job openings at Denali Therapeutics

  • Denali Therapeutics South San Francisco, CA
  • Neurodegenerative diseases are one of the largest medical challenges of our time. Denali Therapeutics is a biotechnology company dedicated to developing br... more
  • 16 Days Ago

  • Denali Therapeutics South San Francisco, CA
  • Neurodegenerative diseases are one of the largest medical challenges of our time. Denali Therapeutics is a biotechnology company dedicated to developing br... more
  • 1 Day Ago

  • Denali Therapeutics Salt Lake, UT
  • Neurodegenerative diseases are one of the largest medical challenges of our time. Denali Therapeutics is a biotechnology company dedicated to developing br... more
  • 2 Days Ago

  • Denali Therapeutics South San Francisco, CA
  • Neurodegenerative diseases are one of the largest medical challenges of our time. Denali Therapeutics is a biotechnology company dedicated to developing br... more
  • 2 Days Ago


Not the job you're looking for? Here are some other Associate Scientist, Oligonucleotide Chemistry & Delivery jobs in the South San Francisco, CA area that may be a better fit.

  • insitro South San Francisco, CA
  • The Opportunity At the heart of insitro's strategy is to generate multi-modal phenotypic cellular data in our automated laboratories for our cell machine l... more
  • 16 Days Ago

  • Actalent South San Francisco, CA
  • Description The Position: We are seeking a creative self-motivated collaborative Contractor/Scientist-II to join the Nucleic Acid Design and Discovery NADD... more
  • 6 Days Ago

AI Assistant is available now!

Feel free to start your new journey!