Principal Scientist, Biology

The role

This role leads the scientific direction of one or more therapeutic programs in inflammation and immunology. The Principal Scientist also generates new biology target ideas, runs hands-on lab work, and presents findings to senior leadership.

What you will do

• Define research priorities and guide decisions on disease biology, target validation, and lead candidate development
• Evaluate novel targets and therapeutic strategies and build the rationale to move them into active programs
• Design, execute, and troubleshoot key experiments at the bench
• Establish primary cell cultures from human and mouse tissues
• Run immune profiling with high-parameter flow cytometry and molecular platforms
• Run functional assays such as antigen presentation, activation, proliferation, suppression, and migration
• Present findings and recommendations to senior leadership and cross-functional teams
• Mentor junior scientists and shape best practices across the group

Required qualifications

• PhD in Immunology or a related field
• 6+ years of relevant experience
• Track record of impact through first-author publications, posters, and presentations at meetings
• Demonstrated ability to define research strategy and oversee complex experiments
• Experience generating and advancing novel target hypotheses
• Strong expertise in in vitro and ex vivo immunology, including primary immune assays, co-culture systems, and target cell depletion assays
• Strong expertise in high-parameter flow cytometry
• Proven ability to plan, execute, troubleshoot, and interpret experiments independently
• Comfortable leveraging AI tools for research design, data analysis, and daily workflows
• Highly organized and precise in record keeping
• Clear communicator who can distill complex data for senior leadership
• Proven ability to work effectively in team environments

Nice to have

• Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq) experience
• CRISPR/Cas9 experience
• Omics data analysis experience

Benefits

• Competitive compensation and benefits package
• Base salary, bonus, and equity
• Open, flexible, and friendly work environment
• Platform to develop long-term careers
• Summary of Benefits available to all applicants

Before you apply

• Xaira Therapeutics does not accept agency resumes

About the company

Xaira is a biotech startup using AI to transform drug discovery and development, including generative AI models for protein and antibody therapeutics and foundation models for biology and disease. The company is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, and London.