Scientist/Senior Scientist (CONTRACT BOSTON/CAMBRIDGE BASED)

Company Summary: 

Ring Therapeutics Inc. is a privately held, early-stage biotechnology company pioneering a completely novel form of self-assembly nanostructures by exploiting a family of naturally occurring commensal viruses to create the first re-doseable and targetable medicines utilizing a variety of payloads, such as oligos, small molecules, and DNA. This approach enables a powerful new class of tropic, persistent, non-integrating vectors that overcome the immunogenicity, and limited tropism of existing gene therapy vectors. Ring Therapeutics is leveraging this versatile technology to develop a broad pipeline of novel, targeted medicines for disease with high unmet medical need.

Ring Therapeutics was founded by Flagship Pioneering, focused on launching breakthrough companies based on internally conceived innovations and insights. Flagship Pioneering has created over 40 groundbreaking companies over the past fifteen years, all of which are pioneering novel and proprietary biological, industrial, and engineering approaches to solve major needs in human health and sustainability. These companies include Moderna (MRNA), Seres Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MCRB), , , and Indigo Agriculture.

Position Summary

We are seeking a Scientist or Senior Scientist to join our Targeting team to support a development of the antibody-based targeting platform for delivering therapeutic modalities. This role is centered on the development of targeted delivery approaches together with designing and developing in vitro assays to evaluate targeting strategies.

The ideal candidate brings deep expertise in cell-based and biochemical assay development, and can generate high-quality, decision-driving data across binding, internalization, and functional activity. Experience with or exposure to bioconjugation approaches is desirable to support assay inputs and interpretation.

This is a highly collaborative hands-on role requiring scientific independence and a strong focus on building predictive assays directly inform targeted design and delivery candidate selection.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and optimization of in vitro assays (cell-based and biochemical) to evaluate targeting approaches and function
• Establish and maintain relevant cell-based models
• Support development of quantitative and reproducible assay workflows to assess binding (e.g. BLI, ELISA), internalization, receptor engagement, and cytotoxicity
• Apply bioconjugation methods (e.g., protein labeling and conjugation) as needed to enable assay development and screening
• Generate high-quality datasets to drive targeted delivery candidate selection and structure-activity relationship
• Collaborate cross-functionally with payload, protein engineering, analytical, and translational teams to ensure assay outputs align with program needs
• Present data clearly and provide actionable recommendations to project teams
• Maintain rigorous experimental documentation and reproducibility standards

Required Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Biology, Biochemistry, Bioengineering, or related field (0–2 years industry experience), or M.S. with 3–5 years relevant experience
• Strong, hands-on experience in in vitro assay development, with emphasis on cell-based assays
• Experience with flow cytometry–based assays, internalization assays, or similar cellular readouts
• Experience with binding and interaction assays (e.g., BLI, ELISA)
• Experience with primary cells and other mammalian cell culture systems
• Familiarity with or exposure to bioconjugation techniques (e.g., protein labeling or conjugation)
• Strong data analysis, interpretation, and troubleshooting skills

Additional Qualifications for Senior Scientist

• Demonstrated ability to lead projects and drive scientific strategy
• Proven track record of independent assay development and execution leading to robust, scalable, and decision-enabling assay systems
• Experience mentoring junior scientists and contributing to scientific direction

Preferred Qualifications

• Industry experience in ADC, bioconjugates or biologics discovery
• Experience with targeted delivery systems or nanoparticles
• Experience supporting screening and ranking of conjugated molecules or biologics
• Familiarity with ligand-receptor biology
• Experience with data analysis tools (e.g., Prism, FlowJo)
• Experience working in cross-functional drug discovery teams

Key Competencies

• Strong experimental design and troubleshooting skills
• Experience in in vitro and biochemical  assay development and optimization
• Ability to generate quantitative, decision-driving data
• Clear scientific communication and data presentation
• Collaborative, execution-focused mindset with high attention to detail

Flagship Pioneering and our ecosystem companies are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status.

Recruitment & Staffing Agencies: Flagship Pioneering and its affiliated Flagship Lab companies (collectively, “FSP”) do not accept unsolicited resumes from any source other than candidates. The submission of unsolicited resumes by recruitment or staffing agencies to FSP or its employees is strictly prohibited unless contacted directly by Flagship Pioneering’s internal Talent Acquisition team. Any resume submitted by an agency in the absence of a signed agreement will automatically become the property of FSP, and FSP will not owe any referral or other fees with respect thereto.