Senior Research Associate/ Associate Scientist, Platform and Assay Development

About Xaira Therapeutics Xaira is an innovative biotech startup focused on leveraging AI to transform drug discovery and development. The company is leading the development of generative AI models to design protein and antibody therapeutics, enabling the creation of medicines against historically hard-to-drug molecular targets. It is also developing foundation models for biology and disease to enable better target elucidation and patient stratification. Collectively, these technologies aim to continually enable the identification of novel therapies and to improve success in drug development. Xaira is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, and London. About the Role We are seeking a highly motivated Scientist with strong hands-on experience in assay development, immunology, and cell biology to support the discovery and characterization of novel therapeutic antibodies. This role is ideal for an experimentalist who enjoys independently designing and executing complex biological assays, troubleshooting workflows, and generating high-quality data to support drug discovery programs. The ideal candidate has deep experience developing functional antibody assays and is comfortable operating in fast-paced, evolving research environments. You will work closely with cross-functional teams spanning protein engineering, automation, and computational biology to support target validation and therapeutic development efforts. Key Responsibilities Independently design, execute, and optimize functional antibody assays to support discovery and characterization efforts Develop and run cell-based assays focused on immune activation, cell signaling, and cell-cell interaction biology Design experimental controls, analyze assay performance, and troubleshoot workflows to ensure robust and interpretable data generation Perform hands-on molecular and cellular biology experiments, including mammalian cell culture and assay execution Support characterization of antibody candidates through functional and mechanistic studies Collaborate cross-functionally with protein engineering, automation, and computational teams to support data generation and experimental workflows Clearly document experiments, analyze results, and communicate findings to project teams Required Qualifications B.S. or M.S. with 5–10 years of relevant industry experience Strong hands-on experience developing and executing functional biological assays Experience with antibody-related assays, including immune activation, signaling, or cell-cell interaction systems Strong background in mammalian cell culture and cell-based assay workflows Experience designing experiments, selecting controls, troubleshooting assays, and interpreting complex datasets Hands-on molecular biology experience, including cloning or related techniques Demonstrated ability to independently drive experiments and generate high-quality data Strong organizational skills and attention to detail Preferred Qualifications Experience working in antibody discovery or therapeutic development environments Familiarity with T-cell activation or immune profiling assays Experience working with data-rich or high-throughput experimental workflows Comfort operating in collaborative, fast-paced, and evolving research environments Experience partnering with automation or computational biology teams Compensation: Annual We offer a competitive compensation and benefits package, seeking to provide an open, flexible, and friendly work environment to empower employees and provide them with a platform to develop their long-term careers. A Summary of Benefits is available for all applicants. We offer a competitive package that includes base salary, bonus, and equity. The base pay range for this position is expected to be $101,000 - $126,000 annually; however, the base pay offered may vary depending on the market, job-related knowledge, skills and capabilities, and experience. Xaira Therapeutics an equal-opportunity employer. We beli