Associate Scientist - Cellular Assay Development, Functional Genomics

At Amgen, our shared mission—to serve patients living with serious illnesses—drives all that we do. Since 1980, we’ve helped pioneer the world of biotech in our fight against the toughest diseases. With a focus on four therapeutic areas—Oncology, Inflammation, General Medicine, and Rare Disease—we reach millions of patients each year. Amgen is advancing a broad and deep pipeline of medicines to treat cancer, heart disease, inflammatory conditions, rare diseases, and obesity-related conditions. As a member of the Amgen team, you’ll help make a lasting impact on patients' lives through research, manufacturing, and delivering innovative medicines.

About the role

In this role, you will be part of a dynamic, cross-functional team advancing target and biological discovery across Amgen’s therapeutic areas.

Responsibilities

• Support the execution of functional arrayed genomic screens in advanced in vitro models in collaboration with therapeutic area partners.
• Carry out mammalian cell culture, transfection, transduction, and functional assays to enable functional, arrayed genomic screens; experience with iPSC culture and differentiation preferred.
• Optimize and miniaturize cell-based assays for high-throughput automated screening.
• Leverage functional assays, particularly high-content imaging, to profile cellular phenotypes and states.
• Partner with TD&B and cross-functional team members, including automation colleagues, to accelerate model deployment and reproducibility.
• Collaborate with Amgen therapeutic area scientists to define requirements, ensure biological relevance, and deliver systems that enable mechanistic and translational insights.
• Foster a collaborative, creative, and scientifically rigorous team culture committed to delivering impact across Amgen’s pipeline.

Requirements

• Master’s degree and 1 year of scientific/drug discovery experience with a track record of scientific excellence and productivity OR Bachelor’s degree and 3 years of scientific/drug discovery experience with a track record of scientific excellence and productivity.

Qualifications

• M.S. degree in cell biology, molecular biology, biomedical engineering, or related discipline, or B.S. degree with commensurate scientific/drug discovery experience and a track record of scientific excellence and productivity.
• Proficiency with mammalian cell culture, including immortalized and primary lines; experience with iPSC culture preferred.
• Experience with gene editing/delivery techniques, e.g., CRISPR/Cas9, lentiviral transduction, and transient transfection.
• Experience with cellular assay optimization and miniaturization; familiarity working with plate-based assays and associated equipment/automation.
• Strong hands-on experience with functional assays, particularly high-content imaging.
• Familiarity with high-throughput screening metrics (e.g., Z’, S/B, MSMR).
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams to translate disease biology into experimental models.
• Excellent organizational and communication skills, with the ability to drive cross-site collaboration in a matrixed research environment.

Pay

The expected annual salary range for this role in the U.S. (excluding Puerto Rico) is posted. Actual salary will vary based on relevant skills, experience, and qualifications.

Benefits

• A comprehensive employee benefits package, including a Retirement and Savings Plan with generous company contributions.
• Group medical, dental, and vision coverage, life and disability insurance, and flexible spending accounts.
• A discretionary annual bonus program, or for field sales representatives, a sales-based incentive plan.
• Stock-based long-term incentives.
• Award-winning time-off plans.
• Flexible work models where possible.