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Engineer III, ADME

Boston, Massachusetts

Our mission is to make biology easier to engineer. Ginkgo is constructing, editing, and redesigning the living world in order to answer the globe’s growing challenges in health, energy, food, materials, and more. Our bioengineers make use of an in-house automated foundry for designing and building new organisms. 

 

Engineer III, ADME

Boston, Massachusetts

Our mission is to make biology easier to engineer.

Ginkgo is constructing, editing, and redesigning the living world in order to answer the globe’s growing challenges in health, energy, food, materials, and more.

Here at Ginkgo, we are aiming to modernize ADME by bringing our experience in high-throughput screening to the in vitro small molecule drug pipeline.

We are re-imagining ADME at scale, and we are seeking a technically strong and execution-focused Engineer III, ADME to help build, run, and improve our next-generation platform.

This role is a hands-on opportunity for an early- to mid-career scientist or engineer who can execute high-quality in vitro ADME assays, contribute to workflow development, and help translate methods into robust, automation-enabled operations. The ideal candidate brings strong experimental fundamentals, comfort with analytical readouts such as LC-MS/MS and high-throughput mass spectrometry, and the ability to work across assay development, execution, troubleshooting, data interpretation, and metabolomics-informed workflow development.

Key Responsibilities

Assay Development & Execution

  • Execute, optimize, and help validate a range of in vitro ADME assays such as solubility, MDCK permeability, plasma protein binding, microsomal stability, hepatocyte stability, and CYP inhibition/induction.

  • Perform sample preparation and analytical workflows for high-throughput ADME studies, including LC-MS/MS, high-throughput mass spectrometry, and related mass spectrometry-based readouts.

  • Contribute to HT-mass spec and metabolomics-informed workflows for compound profiling, assay readout generation, and interpretation of pathway- or metabolism-relevant signals where appropriate.

  • Support transfer of manual methods into higher-throughput and automation-enabled workflows, working with liquid handlers and related instrumentation where appropriate.

  • Troubleshoot assay, instrument, and workflow issues; identify root causes and improve robustness, throughput, and data quality over time.

Data Analysis & Reporting

  • Analyze, interpret, and summarize ADME data, including key assay outputs and pharmacokinetic-relevant parameters.

  • Present results clearly to medicinal chemistry and cross-functional project teams to support compound progression and decision-making.

  • Partner with computational and data teams to ensure data outputs are structured, QC’d, and analysis-ready.

Operational Excellence

  • Maintain clear, accurate laboratory records, SOPs, and electronic notebooks.

  • Ensure laboratory activities comply with internal quality expectations and safety requirements.

  • Contribute to SOPs, runbooks, checklists, and workflow documentation so established assays can be executed reproducibly and transferred across the team.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

  • Work closely with ADME, automation, analytical, and data colleagues to scope work, communicate progress, and deliver high-quality data on timeline.

  • Contribute to team knowledge sharing, onboarding, and day-to-day collaboration in a fast-moving platform environment.

Minimum Qualifications

  • Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Pharmacology, Analytical Chemistry, or a related field with 3+ years of relevant industry experience; or M.S. with 5+ years; or B.S. with 7+ years of relevant hands-on industry experience.

  • Hands-on experience with in vitro ADME assays and associated experimental workflows in a drug discovery or related setting.

  • Practical experience with LC-MS/MS, high-throughput mass spectrometry, acoustic MS, or similar analytical approaches used to support high-throughput assay readouts.

  • Exposure to metabolomics workflows, metabolite identification, or metabolomics-informed interpretation of assay outputs is strongly preferred.

  • Experience working with laboratory automation or semi-automated workflows in a research environment.

  • Strong experimental discipline, attention to detail, and ability to independently manage multiple priorities at the bench.

  • Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to document work clearly and collaborate effectively across disciplines.

Preferred Qualifications

  • Experience helping develop, optimize, or transfer ADME assays into higher-throughput formats.

  • Familiarity with drug metabolism pathways, DMPK concepts, and the use of metabolomics or related analytical approaches to contextualize compound behavior and assay results.

  • Experience with data visualization or scripting tools such as Python or R.

  • Familiarity with ELN, LIMS, or related electronic laboratory data systems.

  • Experience working in a CRO environment or collaborating with external assay providers.

What Success Looks Like

  • ADME assays are executed reliably, with strong documentation, clean QC, and reproducible outputs.

  • Analytical, HT-mass spec, and assay workflows become more robust, scalable, and transferable over time, with growing integration of metabolomics-informed readouts where useful.

  • Project teams receive timely, high-quality ADME data that informs compound decisions.

  • The role becomes a strong bridge between assay execution, automation, and data quality across the ADME platform.

The base salary range for this role is $90,000 - $140,000. Actual pay within this range will depend on a candidate's skills, expertise, and experience. We also offer company stock awards, a comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental & vision coverage, health spending accounts, voluntary benefits, leave of absence policies, 401(k) program with employer contribution, 8 paid holidays in addition to a full-week winter shutdown and unlimited Paid Time Off policy.

Ginkgo has implemented a full-time onsite work policy requiring employees to work in the office five (5) days per week. This policy applies to all employees who live within 50 miles of Ginkgo's offices in Boston, MA, Emeryville, CA, and West Sacramento, CA. Candidates will be informed of this onsite requirement during the interview process.

 
It is the policy of Ginkgo Bioworks to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees, employment applicants, and EOE disability/vet. 
 
 
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