Senior Scientist, Biology & Pharmacology

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.

• Drive preclinical programs by designing and executing in vitro and in vivo studies that explore disease biology, target validation, and lead candidate development.
• Identify knowledge gaps, ask critical mechanistic questions to guide program direction, and evaluate novel targets and therapeutic strategies.
• Dissociate human tissue biopsies into single-cell suspensions or establish human tissue slice cultures for downstream functional or phenotyping assays.
• Lead immune profiling and functional characterization using high-parameter flow cytometry (15+ colors or spectral platforms), functional assays (T cell activation, differentiation, proliferation, suppression), and molecular/cytokine profiling (MSD, Luminex, qPCR, RNA sequencing).
• Translate experimental data into actionable insights and clearly communicate findings and recommendations to cross-functional teams.

• PhD in Immunology or a related field with 3+ years of relevant experience; industry experience preferred.
• Track record of impact through publications, presentations, or applied research.
• Hands-on experience with primary human or mouse immune cells and/or ex vivo tissue systems.
• Strong expertise in flow cytometry, including high-parameter panel design, execution, and data analysis.
• Proven ability to independently plan, execute, troubleshoot, and interpret experiments.
• Highly organized, with the ability to manage multiple workstreams in a fast-paced environment.
• Clear communicator who can distill complex data into actionable insights.