Scientist 3, Discovery Oncology

About the role

We are seeking a talented and highly motivated Scientist to join our Research Oncology team at Genentech. As a Scientist in this role, you will be critical to delivering on our drug discovery pipeline. You will develop projects and design experiments that yield key mechanistic insights to advance novel therapeutic targets and enable new drug discovery approaches. This position offers the opportunity to collaborate with cross‑functional teams and utilize cutting‑edge technologies to conduct highly impactful and creative research with the ultimate goal of improving patients’ lives.

Responsibilities

• Design, execute and interpret hypothesis‑driven experiments, generating highly reproducible data and robust tools and assays to drive oncology drug discovery forward.
• Engage in scientific discussion, stay up to date with the literature, propose new ideas or creative solutions, and identify key experiments to yield mechanistic insights required to pursue and validate therapeutic targets.
• Work productively with multidisciplinary teams across Genentech—including Drug Discovery, Computational Sciences, Translational Medicine, and Pathology—to support validation and development of novel therapeutics, fostering a collaborative culture by sharing expertise and learning from others.
• Present and discuss findings at regular lab meetings, team meetings, department forums, and cross‑functional meetings.

Requirements

• Ph.D. in Molecular Biology, Cancer Biology, or a related field (candidates with an M.Sc. and at least three years of research experience will also be considered).
• Deep technical expertise in mammalian cell culture (including handling complex or difficult‑to‑culture models) and advanced cell engineering (CRISPR‑Cas9 gene editing, lentiviral/transposon delivery, and generation of inducible or reporter cell lines).
• Hands‑on mastery of cellular pharmacology and mechanistic assays such as dose‑response viability measurements, pathway modulation assays, Western blotting, qRT‑PCR, and protein interaction/pull‑down assays.
• Proven track record of rigorous, impactful research evidenced by peer‑reviewed publications, conference presentations, or documented milestone contributions within an industry drug discovery setting.
• High resilience, self‑motivation, scientific problem‑solving capabilities, and exceptional collaboration skills in team‑oriented environments.

Preferred Experience

• Strong background in cancer signaling pathways; prior work in hormone‑dependent cancers is a plus.
• Background in transcription factor and chromatin biology, with experience designing and interpreting NGS experiments (e.g., ATAC‑seq, ChIP‑seq, RNA‑seq).
• Hands‑on proficiency with advanced cellular imaging modalities, including live‑cell microscopy, high‑content imaging, immunofluorescence (IF), or fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) in cell and tissue specimens.

Pay

The expected salary range for this position, based on the primary location of South San Francisco, CA, is $103,400 to $192,000. Actual pay will be determined based on experience, qualifications, geographic location, and other job‑related factors permitted by law. A discretionary annual bonus may be available based on individual and company performance.

Benefits

• Relocation benefits are available.
• Genentech is an equal‑opportunity employer, employing, promoting, and treating all employees and applicants on the basis of merit, qualifications, and competence, without unlawful discrimination.
• Accommodations are provided for applicants with disabilities during the online application process.