Company Overview: Terray Therapeutics is a venture-backed biotechnology company where scientists and engineers build together to transform how small-molecule drugs are discovered and developed. By combining our nanotechnology, experimental science, machine learning, and automation, we leverage Terray’s ability to generate and learn from scale proprietary chemical data to discover novel medicines for patients in need.
At Terray, you will work alongside pioneers and experts in artificial intelligence, chemistry, drug discovery, automation, and nanotechnology in deeply interconnected workflows where computational and experimental teams continuously learn from one another. Our platform, EMMI (Experimentation Meets Machine Intelligence), powers iterative cycles of molecular design and wet-lab experimentation that rapidly improve our understanding of biochemical interactions and guide the next generation of discoveries.
Our teams support both an internal immunology pipeline and partnerships across a broad range of therapeutic areas. The work here is highly collaborative, fast-moving, and grounded in the belief that breakthroughs happen when strong science, thoughtful technology, and great people work closely together.
Position Summary: Terray Therapeutics is seeking a motivated, creative, and experienced immunologist to join our cell assay team. This role will be full-time onsite. The candidate will work with other scientists in the team to design experiments to evaluate the mechanism of action of hits from Terray’s proprietary EMMI platform and optimize assays to support program progression through hit-to-lead and lead optimization. The successful candidate will have a strong immunology background and understanding of immune signaling pathways along with demonstrated experience applying a broad range of cellular techniques to probe small molecule mechanism of action.
The core responsibilities of this position are:
- Review the literature to gain a comprehensive understanding of internal therapeutic targets of interest
- Design experiments to confirm the mechanism of action of small molecule hits from our binding and virtual screens in cells
- Independently develop, optimize, and run cell-based assays to profile on- and off-target activity of hits and hit series
- Adapt assays for medium to high-throughput screening and IC50 generation to support structure-activity-relationship understanding
- Manage CROs for reagent development and/or in vitro testing as needed
- Analyze and interpret experimental data and communicate results in project team meetings
- Interface with a multidisciplinary team (including chemists and computational scientists) as the immunology representative to drive decision-making
- Support organization of lab and equipment as needed
Experience and Qualifications: Given the company’s size, anticipated growth and fast-paced environment, the organization requires a scientist who is thoughtful, high energy, attentive to detail, and can work effectively with the biology team to further enhance our next-generation drug discovery capabilities.
Part of Terray’s success is nurtured by a hands-on work environment where everyone is accountable, vested in a vision of excellence, and actively taking part in the success of the business. Terray supports a positive work environment where employees can feel engaged, recognized and empowered to be creative.
Required Qualifications:
- PhD in the field of immunology, molecular or cell biology, or related field with 3+ years of small molecule drug discovery experience
- Or MSc with 10+ years of small molecule drug discovery industry experience
- Strong background in immunology and immune signaling pathways
- Extensive hands-on experience with cell culture and cell-based assays, including reporter assays, gene and protein expression (eg: Flow cytometry, qPCR, RNAseq, Luminex, MSD, ELISA, Western) and intracellular techniques
- Proficiency in primary cell isolation, differentiation, culture and flow cytometry
- Experience establishing robust assays for small molecule dose responses and IC50 generation
- Excellent organizational, interpersonal and communication skills, and can thrive in a highly collaborative research environment
- Demonstrated technical proficiency, ability to troubleshoot to solve problems and to deliver high quality data
Candidates will exhibit the ability to work well under pressure to provide results in a short timeframe. The company is looking for a highly responsive, goal-oriented individual who will bring significant energy and drive to solve complex technical problems and help us achieve our mission to advance human health.
Compensation Details: $120,000 – $175,000 annually, depending on experience. Terray’s salary ranges are designed to be competitive and are benchmarked against market base salary plus bonus within our industry and market. We align pay to role scope, skill level, and impact.
We invest heavily in benefits because taking care of our people matters. Our programs are benchmarked at the top of the Southern California market and designed to provide meaningful support across every stage of life. Benefits include participation in the Company’s stock option plan, a 3% retirement safe harbor contribution, fully paid health, dental, and vision insurance for our employees, spouse, partner, and families, as well as above-market life insurance, disability coverage, and much more to explore during the offer process.
Skills Required
- PhD in immunology, molecular or cell biology, or related field with 3+ years of small molecule drug discovery experience
- MSc in relevant field with 10+ years of small molecule drug discovery industry experience (alternative to PhD path)
- Strong background in immunology and immune signaling pathways
- Extensive hands-on experience with cell culture and cell-based assays including reporter assays and intracellular techniques
- Experience with gene and protein expression assays (Flow cytometry, qPCR, RNAseq, Luminex, MSD, ELISA, Western)
- Proficiency in primary cell isolation, differentiation, culture, and flow cytometry
- Experience establishing robust assays for small molecule dose responses and IC50 generation
- Excellent organizational, interpersonal, and communication skills; ability to thrive in collaborative research environments
- Demonstrated technical proficiency and strong troubleshooting skills to deliver high-quality data
- Ability to work well under pressure and provide results in short timeframes
- Willingness to work full-time onsite
Terray Therapeutics Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Terray Therapeutics and has not been reviewed or approved by Terray Therapeutics.
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Fair & Transparent Compensation — Pay is considered competitive for a startup and compares favorably to both tech and biopharma peers. Feedback suggests total rewards, including cash and equity, are often viewed as strong relative to market.
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Healthcare Strength — Health coverage is employer-paid and described as comprehensive, with company-funded HSAs and supplemental mental‑health support. Feedback suggests these elements meaningfully bolster total compensation.
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Parental & Family Support — Parental leave is fully paid with the company making employees whole regardless of state program coverage. Feedback suggests this policy is a notable strength versus many startup peers.
Terray Therapeutics Insights
What We Do
Chemistry is the key to drug discovery, but chemical data is stuck in the twentieth century. We’re generating precise chemical datasets purpose-built to propel drug discovery into the information age — and we’re doing it on a larger scale and faster than has ever before been possible. Terray Therapeutics is a biotechnology company led by pioneers and long-time leaders in artificial intelligence, synthetic (medicinal) chemistry, biology and preclinical development, automation, and nanotechnology. Chemical datasets generated using our novel ultra-dense microarray technology work seamlessly with our integrated machine learning and computational platform to systematically map biochemical interactions between small molecules and causes of disease. Iterative cycles of virtual molecular design and experimentation power AI and machine learning models, which in turn guide the next cycle of design. With a chemistry engine that measures billions of interactions daily and becomes increasingly precise with every cycle, we can answer an unprecedented array of questions — deriving insights that enable us to predictably create drugs for patients in need.
