Company Summary:

Empress Therapeutics is an early-stage biotechnology company pioneering Co-Evolved Molecules^TM, a repertoire of human-experienced chemistries that represent a privileged source of drugs, elite starting points for drugs, and new molecular insights into health and disease.

The Empression product platform uses artificial intelligence and principles from co-evolution and pharmacology to harness patient data and uncover novel disease insights and drug candidates.  Our mission is to turn Co-Evolved Molecules^TM into products that can diagnose, prevent, and treat a wide range of serious diseases.

Empress Therapeutics, Inc. was founded in Flagship’s venture creation engine, where companies such as Moderna Therapeutics (NASDAQ: MRNA), Rubius Therapeutics (NASDAQ: RUBY), and Editas Medicines (NASDAQ: EDIT) were conceived and created.  Since Flagship’s founding in 2000, the firm has originated and fostered the development of nearly 100 scientific ventures resulting in $19+ billion in aggregate value, 500+ issued patents, and more than 50 clinical trials for novel therapeutic agents. 

Position Summary:

We are seeking a motivated and innovative PrincipalScientist to join our Discovery Biology group to lead the transcriptomic high throughput biology platform development, and complement our suite of translational in vitro assays for bioactivity and MoA interrogation.

The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in transcriptomic wet-lab experiments in the context of multiple areas that include immunology andoncology and with target ID and mechanism of action interrogations.  You will play an instrumental role in helping to develop R&D strategy, designing and executing experiments for MoA interrogation and Target ID/validation using RNA-seq, scRNA-seq, RNAi, and CRISPR-cas9 approaches.

You will be responsible for establishing and managing external research projects. The successful candidate will have great entrepreneurial orientation, excellent communication skills and be a team player comfortable working in and contributing to a dynamic multi-disciplinary team environment. 

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the development of transcriptomics-based platform with HTS capabilities that simultaneously identifies hit activity and provide insights into putative targets and MOA pathways.
• Design and execute cutting-edge transcriptomics-based screens to deconvolute Co-Evolved Molecule cell-type specificity and MoA in collaboration with the immunology group.
• Contribute creatively to the company’s R&D strategy, helping drive actionable biological hypotheses from the data.
• Identify emerging methods and tools in systems biology approaches, lead prototyping and implementation when applicable, and collaborate closely with the Computational Discovery group for in-depth data analysis.
• Lead multi-discipline projects and work closely with other Empress groups across several therapeutic areas.
• Manage external research parties and relationships including academic collaborators and CROs.
• Report results to the scientific leadership team and management.

Key Requirements:

• Ph.D. in Biology, Biological Engineering, or related field with 4+ years of post-graduate research experience in biotech/pharma in the transcriptomic discovery setting.
• Extensive experience with leading by example and working alongside direct reports using transcriptomics approaches
• Familiar with the interrogation of biological mechanisms in vitro in the context of immune cells, epithelial cells, endothelial cells, different cell lines and organoids.
• Advanced hands-on wet lab techniques required and experience with the use of knockdown tools and small molecule blockers and perturbagens approach for both pathway interrogation and target validation.
• Ability to manage projects andindependently propose plans and delegate logical progress with experimental design.
• Proficiency with integration of statistical methods, data visualizations and pathway analysis tools with ability to mining omics data as comparative reference points.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills with capability of conveying technical information in a clear and concise thorough manner.
• Flexible team player with Intellectual curiosity and proclivity for a fast-paced, entrepreneurial spirit with creative productivity.

Recruitment & Staffing Agencies: Flagship Pioneering and its affiliated Flagship Lab companies (collectively, “FSP”) do not accept unsolicited resumes from any source other than candidates. The submission of unsolicited resumes by recruitment or staffing agencies to FSP or its employees is strictly prohibited unless contacted directly by Flagship Pioneering’s internal Talent Acquisition team. Any resume submitted by an agency in the absence of a signed agreement will automatically become the property of FSP, and FSP will not owe any referral or other fees with respect thereto.