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Salary: USD 115,000 - 170,000 / annual
Character Biosciences is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on preserving vision in people with serious, progressive eye diseases. The company has built an advanced disease intelligence system integrating genomics with longitudinal clinical and imaging data to characterize pathogenic drivers of disease progression in dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Character is advancing two innovative, homegrown programs in Phase 1 studies: a potential best-in-class complement inhibitor and a potential first-in-class lipid-modulating agent, both designed to slow retinal cell death and vision loss.
The Scientist/Senior Scientist, Translational Biology role is a hands-on, individual contributor position reporting to the Associate Director, Biology. This role leads preclinical mechanism-of-action work supporting the two clinical-stage programs, deepens understanding of how these assets work, evaluates next-generation forms of each mechanism, and assesses new disease applications.
Key Responsibilities:
- Design, execute, and interpret in vitro studies extending mechanism of action in disease-relevant cell systems, including primary and iPSC-derived RPE, microglia, retinal, and endothelial models
- Evaluate next-generation forms of mechanisms and alternative delivery approaches for retained expression, activity, and potency
- Build in vitro biology connecting clinical biomarker readouts to drug mechanism; support interpretation of emerging clinical biomarker and PK data
- Assess new disease applications for existing mechanisms, building cell models and readouts in relevant tissue contexts
- Collaboratively design and manage execution of in vivo pharmacology and PK/PD studies with CROs
- Present data and recommendations at internal and external meetings to audiences of diverse scientific backgrounds
The ideal candidate reasons across biology, can infer where a mechanism may be relevant in human pathology, form testable hypotheses, and design experiments to prove or disprove them. You are hands-on at the bench, rigorous with data, and able to scope and troubleshoot experiments independently. You work both independently and collaboratively in a fast-paced environment with strong written and verbal communication skills.
Character is well capitalized with over $110 million in Series B financing from leading healthcare and technology investors, and maintains a multi-target drug discovery collaboration with Bausch + Lomb.
Requirements:
- PhD in cell biology, biochemistry, immunology, pharmacology, or related discipline with minimum 2 years postdoctoral or industry experience
- Deep hands-on capability in mammalian cell culture, quantitative functional assays (immunoassays, flow cytometry, high content imaging, qPCR)
- Experience building and qualifying cell-based assays, including comparative potency assays able to discriminate between closely related variants
- Rigorous quantitative analysis, familiarity with basic statistical methods, meticulous experimental documentation
- Evidence of thinking across unfamiliar biologies (e.g., moving into new fields or taking mechanisms into new tissue/disease contexts)
- Must be able to work both independently and collaboratively in fast-paced environment with strong communication skills
- Must be authorized to work in the United States
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience designing and managing in vivo studies with CROs
- Experience evaluating AAV or other gene-therapy constructs, or protein-engineered variants, for expression, activity, or potency
- Research experience in complement biology, cholesterol and lipid trafficking, or ocular diseases
