Associate Scientist (Drug Discovery / HTS)

6-month contract role in Boston, MA with potential for extensions. W2 contract; no PTO or benefits. ACA-compliant supplemental package available for enrollment. Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States and able to sit on Primary Talent Partners W2 without sponsorship.

Responsibilities

• Develop and/or run quantitative biochemical and biophysical assays to support identification, characterization, and optimization of small molecule ligands from high throughput screening campaigns and medicinal chemistry efforts.
• Conduct biochemical and biophysical studies to elucidate the modes of ligand interaction and mechanisms of action on target proteins.

Requirements

• BS/BA degree in biochemistry, biophysics, or a related discipline with a minimum of 1–5 years of industry experience; or an MS degree in biochemistry, biophysics, or a related discipline with 2 or more years of industry experience, preferably with a focus on assay development and compound profiling within a drug discovery environment.
• Basic knowledge of biochemistry, biophysics, and molecular biology.
• Prior experience with basic biochemical and/or biophysical techniques.
• Highly motivated, driven, and willing to take the initiative to learn new scientific methodologies.
• Strong team player with excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Comfortable using a PC and proficient in Windows-based operating systems and basic applications for data analysis, such as spreadsheets and databases.

Preferred Attributes

• Proven ability to independently design, develop, and implement biochemical and biophysical screening assays using detection modalities such as: TR-FRET, FP, LC-MS, radiochemical, surface plasmon resonance (BIAcore), fluorescence-based thermal shift (TdF), and/or isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC).
• Hands-on experience performing steady-state and transient-state kinetic experiments to study enzymes and inhibitors.
• Experience with automated liquid handlers such as Echo, Bravo, Biomek, or Hamilton.
• Experience with data analysis and presentation software such as TIBCO Spotfire, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Approximately 3–5 years of industry experience.
• Experience with TIBCO Spotfire and GraphPad Prism.

Key Notes

• Lab-facing biophysics/biochemical assay position requiring quick ramp-up; not suitable for fresh graduates.
• Prioritize experience with TR-FRET/FRET, ADP-Glo, fluorescence polarization, and similar biochemical assay formats; ELISA is less relevant.
• Liquid handling experience is nice to have but not required; basic pipetting/instrument awareness is sufficient.
• No PhD candidates.
• Day-to-day work is primarily lab-based, involving routine assay execution, data analysis, documentation, troubleshooting, and communication of unusual results to the team.
• Candidate should be fairly independent after training but will collaborate on less routine experiments or troubleshooting.
• The biophysics group consists of about 12 people within a larger Boston department of around 95 and a global department of roughly 350–400 people.

Pay

$46.00 – $56.00/hour

Schedule

6-month contract to start, with potential for extensions.