Senior Associate Scientist – Plate-Based Analytical Assays – Transitional and Early Development

About the role

Senior Associate Scientist in the Transitional and Early Development team, you will play a critical role in bridging early discovery and clinical development for Elanco’s biotherapeutics pipeline. This laboratory-based position focuses on the design, execution, and optimization of research-stage plate-based analytical assays to support the screening and characterization of hit monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and other complex biomolecules.

Responsibilities

• Perform routine and customized research-stage plate assays, including receptor blocking ELISAs, quantitative ELISAs, AC-SINS, and PEG precipitation assays to screen hit mAbs and other biomolecules.
• Develop, optimize, and qualify quantitative ELISAs for lead candidate molecules. Ensure these assays meet early robustness criteria for successful technology transfer to the Analytical Development team at Pipeline Entry.
• Proactively design, source, and evaluate critical tool reagents (e.g., capture/detection antibodies, recombinant target proteins) required for customized ligand-binding assays.
• Analyze large datasets using appropriate statistical and graphing software (e.g., GraphPad Prism, JMP).
• Document all experimental work meticulously in electronic lab notebooks (ELN) and author technical reports.
• Interface daily with scientists across Discovery Research and Analytical Development to ensure assay strategies align with project milestones and molecule characterization needs.
• Evaluate and implement new plate-based technologies and high-throughput automation strategies to improve screening efficiency and data quality.

Requirements

• Education: B.S. or M.S. in Immunology, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, or a closely related scientific discipline.
• Experience: B.S. with 4+ years, or M.S. with 2+ years of relevant biopharmaceutical industry experience focusing on assay development and/or early research screening.
• Technical Skills: Extensive, hands-on expertise in developing, optimizing, and troubleshooting ligand-binding assays (especially ELISAs). Demonstrated ability to design and evaluate tool reagents for novel assay development. Strong analytical problem-solving skills with the ability to learn quickly and assimilate new laboratory techniques. Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with a track record of effective collaboration in a matrixed team environment.

Qualifications

• Direct experience with biophysical/colloidal stability screening assays such as AC-SINS and PEG precipitation assays.
• Understanding of the analytical requirements for transitioning early research assays into validate-able methods for late-stage Analytical Development and Quality Control.
• Experience with automated liquid handlers or high-throughput plate reading platforms to scale early screening efforts.
• Strong background in protein biochemistry and structural understanding of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and multi-specific biologics.
• Experience utilizing Design of Experiments (DoE) for assay optimization.