Sr. Scientist (Metabolic Disease)

About the Opportunity

Join a pharmaceutical development team in South San Francisco as a Scientist or Senior Scientist focused on metabolic disease. This hands-on, onsite role combines bench science with lab leadership. You will build the assays that support active liver and obesity programs while guiding associate scientists and helping keep programs moving forward. Location: San Francisco, CA. Work arrangement: Onsite (approx. 80% lab / 20% office). Employment type: Contract - 12 months with potential extension OR contract to hire.

Why This Role

• Work on high-impact programs in liver disease and obesity biology
• Hands-on assay development in a leading biotech hub
• Lead a lab and mentor associates, reporting to a Principal Scientist
• Advanced imaging and cell-based platforms, including high-content microscopy

Key Responsibilities

• Design, build, and optimize assays to support metabolic disease studies
• Oversee day-to-day lab operations and direct the work of associate scientists
• Help ensure programs progress smoothly and on schedule
• Maintain bench notes and documentation in accordance with Good Laboratory Practices (GLP)
• Partner with the Principal Scientist on priorities, timelines, and program needs
• Spend roughly 80% of your time in the lab and 20% on office-based work

Required Qualifications

• MS or PhD in a relevant scientific discipline with 3-7 years of relevant experience
• Pharmaceutical or biotech industry experience (required)
• Strong background in metabolic disease, including obesity biology and related areas such as adiposity, insulin signaling, liver, or kidney
• Experience with mammalian cell culture (not bacterial), including complex primary cell culture
• Hands-on experience with high-content microscopy and image analysis platforms (e.g., Columbus, Opera Phenix)
• Broad technical toolkit, including cell staining, iPSC work, Western blots, ELISA, HTRF, absorbance-based readouts, and qPCR
• GLP experience within a small to mid-size biotech or pharma environment
• Demonstrated ability to oversee lab work and guide junior team members

Ideal Candidate

A versatile, bench-driven scientist with deep metabolic disease expertise who enjoys both building assays and leading a small team. You are comfortable in a fast-moving biotech environment and bring strong documentation habits and technical breadth.