Senior Scientist, Immunology – Neurology

Research/Immuno-Neurology     ·      South San Francisco, CA     ·     Full time

At Alector, our mission is to develop therapies that empower the immune system to cure neurodegeneration. Our team is solely focused on developing cures for some of the most challenging diseases facing our society. We are supported in this mission by experienced and accomplished scientists and board members, leading healthcare investors and some of the most innovative pharma companies.

Our discovery efforts and drugs are supported by extensive insight into human genetics, transcriptomics, proteomics, single cell analysis, CRISPR and IPSC technology and interrogation of genetically defined patient populations in frontotemporal dementia, ALS, Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. Alector is currently pursuing 4 clinical programs in neurodegeneration and is anticipating advancing 3 additional programs to the clinic in neurodegeneration and cancer by 2022. By next year Alector will have 7 clinical drugs in 8 distinct indications.

Would you like to take part in creating new therapies that really make a difference in patients’ lives? Do you desire both autonomy and collaboration in tackling scientific challenges that interest you? Would you like to be part of a talented team where everyone has a voice?

Use your scientific skills to help us achieve our mission of saving lives by curing neurodegenerative diseases.

As a Senior Scientist for the immunology and/or neurology teams, you’ll work closely with other scientists and under the mentorship of the associate director in preclinical research and development, leading a target discovery project. Your contribution will be essential for the generation of an innovative therapeutic approach targeting myeloid cells in neurodegenerative disease. You will be involved across a variety of projects in work central to Alector’s strategic mission. While utilizing your existing technical skills, you will also expand your expertise to new technologies and play a key role in pre-clinical development of our programs. You will help grow the company, guide its direction, and, above all, bolster Alector’s culture of thinking independently and working on teams.

During the First Year, your Goals Will Include:

• Independently leading a high-priority target discovery project from-end-to-end, from high-level design and planning to running experiments, assessing results and identifying the critical path forward to a fast go/no-go decision within a year of project start
• Participating actively in decision-making process on cross-functional project teams by providing scientific input and mentoring
• Analyzing current scientific literature to help identify new targets or new strategies for existing targets
• Conceptualize, design, and perform novel in vitro functional assays with primary human and mouse myeloid cells for target validation
• Design assay screening suite to enable lead antibody selection
• Being a partner to both academic collaborators and contract research organizations to ensure successful joint efforts
• Advance group capabilities and know-how by identifying and implementing novel technologies
• Leading research associates or junior scientists

Desires for the Immune-Neurology Positions:

• PhD 5 years of postdoctoral experience and at least 2 years of industry experience
• Up-to-date knowledge of the field of innate immunity and signaling pathways, with particular focus on myeloid cell biology. Experience with microglia is a plus.
• Authoritative knowledge in the design, validation and execution of in vitro and ex vivo flow cytometry-based phenotypic and functional characterization of immune cell populations.
• Solid technical knowledge and hands-on experience in molecular and cellular techniques to decipher target biology, especially in immunology-related fields. Experience with antibody drug development a plus.
• Expertise in isolation and characterization of primary immune cells (myeloid cells) of rodent and/or human origin.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Proficiency in immunology, neuro-immunology background is a plus.

At Alector, we believe that high-performing teams include people from a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences who can challenge each other’s assumptions with fresh perspectives and bring creative ideas to the table. We are committed to building an open, diverse, and inclusive environment for all employees. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability status, or any other characteristics protected under applicable federal, state, or local laws.

Alector is a great place to learn and experiment. If you excel in a dynamic environment where everyone is committed to finding a cure, where you’ll drive growth, this is the role for you. There is no limit to how far you can go with us.

Benefits:

While we’ve focused on what to look forward to during the first year and beyond, Day One is great, too: committed and driven colleagues, a bold and important company goal, state-of-the-art brand-new brightly-lit offices in the heart of the biotech area, competitive compensation and benefits. But these matter only if you’re excited to build and own something great, and take on these challenges with us. Come join us.

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

Please click here to apply.