Senior Development Scientist I

At Freenome, we are seeking a Senior Development Scientist I to help grow the Freenome Genomics Late Development team.

You will develop, optimize, verify, and validate clinical-grade assay technologies for Freenome's multiomic platform, advancing our mission to detect cancer earlier.

Working across manual and automated workflows, you will collaborate with cross-functional teams to develop and transfer robust NGS-based assays into a regulated, high-throughput production environment.

Responsibilities

• Apply knowledge of molecular biology, nucleic-acid biochemistry, and next-generation sequencing to develop assays for DNA, including genome-wide and targeted approaches.
• Oversee and lead mission-critical experiments to optimize, characterize, verify, and validate NGS-based assays, owning scientific strategy, experimental design, planning, timelines, execution, and delivery.
• Design and execute high-impact experiments, generate detailed documentation, perform data analysis, create summary presentations, and present results cross-functionally.
• Troubleshoot complex technical challenges, identify root causes, and drive process improvements to assay performance and laboratory workflows.
• Drive project planning and prioritization by defining milestones, identifying and mitigating risks, and adapting to evolving program needs.
• Build productive working relationships and partner cross-functionally with computational scientists, engineers, and clinical laboratory team members to transition development protocols into clinical production, including automation, validation experiments, and SOP development.
• Document product development requirements and author study protocols and reports.

Requirements

• PhD in molecular biology, biochemistry, genetics, or a related field with at least 4 years of professional experience in the life sciences, or a Bachelors or Masters degree with at least 10 years of professional experience.
• Prior experience in clinical diagnostics and/or working in a start-up environment is preferred.
• Experience designing and leading the execution of verification and validation studies for IVD assays in a regulated clinical laboratory environment (GLP).
• Extensive hands-on experience in Next-gen sequencing (NGS) based automated assay development including extraction, library preparation, target capture, and sequencing.
• Experience working with automated platforms and liquid handlers.
• Extensive hands-on experience in nucleic acid preparation, amplification, and quantification (DNA/RNA extraction and purification, PCR, qPCR, Qubit, Fragment Analyzer, Tapestation).
• Experience in working with ctDNA/cfDNA as an analyte in NGS workflows.
• Proven track record of designing, planning, and executing successful experiments, including performing independent data analysis and giving effective scientific presentations.
• High attention to detail and ability to record accurate and detailed observations, assess impact, and lead independent troubleshooting investigations.
• Excellent written and verbal communication.
• Proactive communicator with ability to foster collaboration in a multidisciplinary team.
• Flexible and highly motivated to learn new skills and comfortable adapting to changing priorities.
• Experience providing technical mentorship and training to other scientists and research associates to contribute to a culture of technical excellence and continuous improvement.

Benefits

• The US target range of our base salary rate for new hires is (Insert range here, low of Tier 3 and high of Tier 1).
• You will also be eligible to receive equity, cash bonuses, and a full range of medical, financial, and other benefits depending on the position offered.