The Role
The Senior Research Associate/Scientist I will produce and characterize lentivirus, optimize viral vector production, and contribute to assay development in a collaborative research environment.
Summary Generated by Built In
About Outpace Bio
Outpace Bio is pioneering the future of cell therapy for solid tumors by harnessing unrivaled AI-powered protein design. Our mission is to program immune cells for enhanced function inside patients, overcoming key barriers such as poor tumor access, weak survival, antigen escape, and dose-related toxicity. By creating and integrating modular, plug-and-play technology assets, we are developing cell therapies with unprecedented efficacy, transforming how engineered T cells interact with cancer and the immune system to deliver life-changing outcomes. Our multidisciplinary team of scientists, engineers, coders, and cell therapy developers works at the cutting edge of computational protein design, synthetic biology, and immunology. Together, we are reimagining how cells function to unlock novel therapeutic possibilities.Located in Seattle’s vibrant biotech hub overlooking scenic South Lake Union, Outpace Bio is led by pioneers in computational protein design and engineered cell therapies. Our culture is built on a foundation of respect and inclusion, which are fundamental to how we collaborate to revolutionize cell therapy through groundbreaking innovation rooted in rigorous science.
Our Commitment to Diversity
At Outpace Bio, we believe that the highest performing teams include people from a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences. We are committed to cultivating an open, diverse, and inclusive culture for all employees. Recognizing that the best candidates do not always match all criteria of the job description, we encourage you to apply if you think you would be a good fit for the role and are inspired by our mission to cure disease by pushing the boundaries of biology.
Our Momentum
In August 2024, Outpace Bio secured an oversubscribed $144 million Series B financing, led by RA Capital Management and supported by a premier syndicate of life science investors. This funding accelerates our pipeline of programmed T cell therapies, including our lead candidate OPB-101, a mesothelin-specific chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell enhanced by Outpace’s proprietary OUTSMART™, OUTLAST™, OUTSPACER™, and OUTSAFE™ technologies. OPB-101 is advancing toward IND clearance and first dosing in 2025 for patients with advanced platinum-resistant ovarian cancers. The Series B investment also supports the expansion of our pipeline, enabling us to develop additional transformative therapies leveraging our innovative plug-and-play technology platform.
We are seeking a Senior Research Associate or Scientist I to join the viral vector production team at Outpace Bio. In this role, you will apply your scientific training and technical expertise to produce, purify, and characterize lentivirus for our cell and gene therapy applications. Working collaboratively with our Immunology, In vivo, and Cloning teams, you will ensure timely delivery of high-quality viral vectors while contributing to the development of novel viral assays and scale-up process development and improvement.
Successful candidates will bring strong technical skills in mammalian cell culture, viral vector systems, viral vector process development, viral downstream purification, and analytical techniques including flow cytometry and molecular quantitation methods. We seek motivated, detail-oriented scientists who can work independently, troubleshoot technical challenges, and optimize protocols to advance our research programs. If you are a collaborative team player with strong problem-solving skills and enthusiasm for translating research into therapeutic impact, you will thrive in our fast-paced startup environment.
Responsibilities (Position responsibilities may include, but are not limited to):
- Produce and characterize lentivirus supporting multiple Outpace research and pipeline programs
- Design and execute optimization experiments to improve viral titers, purity, and production efficiency
- Support scale-up of lentiviral production for process development and preclinical in vivo studies
- Perform and optimize functional titer and genome quantitation assays (flow cytometry, ddPCR/dPCR)
- Contribute to the development of improved upstream and downstream vector production and purification methodologies
- Contribute to experiment design, data analysis, and presentation of results in internal meetings
- Contribute to authoring or reviewing protocols, reports, or regulatory filings.
Qualifications (Required):
- Ability to work independently on experimental design, execution, and troubleshooting
- Proficiency in mammalian cell culture and aseptic technique
- Hands-on experience with small-scale lentivirus production (adherent or suspension systems)
- Working knowledge of chromatography and filtration principles, downstream bioprocessing, and process scale-up
- Experience operating chromatography systems (AKTA or equivalent)
- Experience with filtration operations including UF/DF and depth filtration
- Highly organized with strong attention to detail and data quality
- Ability to learn new protocols quickly and apply critical thinking to problem-solving
- Effective scientific communication skills with ability to discuss results and collaborate with team members
- Experience measuring viral titer by flow cytometry and ddPCR/digital PCR
- Hands-on experience with transfection and transduction protocols
- Experience safely handling lentivirus under BSL-2 conditions
- 3+ years of research experience with mammalian cell culture systems
Qualifications (Preferred):
- Master's or PhD in Virology, Molecular Biology, Immunology, Cell Biology, Gene Therapy, or related field; alternatively, Bachelor's degree with substantial position-relevant research experience in academic or industry setting
- Lentivirus process development in suspension culture formats (96-well, 24-well, shake flask, and 1-5L bio-reactor scales)
- Downstream viral vector processing including tangential flow filtration (TFF) and chromatography-based purification
- Familiarity with molecular biology techniques including nucleic acid isolation, quantification, and PCR-based methods
- Experience with mammalian cell culture in bioreactor systems
- Experience in a startup or fast-paced biotech setting
- Experience with Electronic Lab Notebook (ELN) systems (Benchling)
- Ability to manage multiple projects, prioritize workflow, meet deadlines, and collaborate effectively in cross-functional teams
- Familiarity with other viral vector platforms (gamma retrovirus, AAV)
The salary range is based on Outpace Bio's reasonable estimate of base salary for this role at the time of posting. Actual base salary will be based on a variety of factors including skills, experience, and other related factors permitted by law.
Working at Outpace offers an exciting opportunity to contribute to groundbreaking research that has the potential to transform the lives of people around the world.
Outpace Bio Total Rewards
Full time employees and their eligible dependents may enroll in Outpace's medical, dental, vision, life insurance, disability, flexible spending account, and 401k plan. In addition, employees may receive stock option grants to be outlined in their offer of employment and a performance bonus. Outpace employees enjoy flexible PTO, paid sick leave which complies with local requirements, and fifteen paid holidays plus a winter shutdown. Outpace also offers a generous paid parental leave policy to all regular full-time employees.
Outpace Bio is committed to a diverse workforce. Employment decisions regarding recruitment and selection will be made without discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, gender, age, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, genetic information or characteristic, gender identity and expression, veteran status, or other non-job related characteristics or other prohibited grounds specified in applicable federal, state and local laws.
Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States. If you are legally authorized to work in the United States now, or in the future without any form of sponsorship, we encourage you to apply.
Top Skills
Chromatography
Ddpcr
Digital Pcr
Filtration
Flow Cytometry
Lentivirus Production
Mammalian Cell Culture
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The Company
What We Do
Outpace Bio is a venture-backed biotechnology company building a platform to create next-generation smart cell therapies. Our world-class scientific team is developing cell therapies that intervene in complex biology in ways that small molecules and biologics cannot. Our rich platform combines custom-designed biological functions with cellular control modalities that program the right response at the right time and place. We create mechanism-driven solutions tailor-made to dramatically improve efficacy and safety. Our partnership business model will accelerate the clinical validation of our platform and the development of truly curative therapies. We value teamwork, creativity, integrity, rigor, and passion for science.
At Outpace Bio, we believe that the highest performing teams include people from a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences who respectfully challenge each other. We are committed to building an open, diverse, and inclusive culture for all employees.
