Back to jobs
New

Director, Protein Sciences

South San Francisco, California, United States

About Xaira Therapeutics

Xaira is an innovative biotech startup focused on leveraging AI to transform drug discovery and development. The company is leading the development of generative AI models to design protein and antibody therapeutics, enabling the creation of medicines against historically hard-to-drug molecular targets. It is also developing foundation models for biology and disease to enable better target elucidation and patient stratification. Collectively, these technologies aim to continually enable the identification of novel therapies and to improve success in drug development. Xaira is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, and London.

About the Role
As the Director of Protein Sciences, you are the primary architect of the group's strategic vision. You will autonomously define, prioritize, and execute our protein production and characterization roadmap, proactively driving the protein design team to challenge conventional antibody assumptions and maximize platform innovation while aligning with clinical development objectives.

About You
You are a visionary leader who doesn't just manage the status quo—you proactively identify bottlenecks and implement innovative solutions to push our protein sciences capabilities forward. You cultivate a culture of scientific rigor, high performance, and rapid iteration. Taking pride in building and leading a protein sciences team that is at the forefront of protein production, characterization, and drug development. You enjoy mentoring and developing team members to have a passion for drug discovery and developing novel treatments for patients.

Responsibilities

  • Champion and drive cross-functional integration across diverse research teams—spanning biology, AI design, and engineering—to successfully achieve scientific goals and address complex project demands.
  • Push the boundaries of protein science capabilities by evaluating and integrating emerging technologies to increase throughput, data quality, and platform efficiency.
    • Direct and optimize protein production from a range of host organisms (E. coli, cell-free, and mammalian), and a range of throughputs 10 to 1000s at varying volumes.
    • Qualify all recombinant proteins by spectroscopic (UV, fluorescence), electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), aggregation (analytical SEC), validated  interactions (BLI/SPR), and identity (MS) methods.
    • Characterize antibodies for therapeutic properties such as binding kinetics, epitope,  stability (thermal and pH), polyspecificity, aggregation propensity, etc..
    • Direct the purification of soluble and membrane proteins using AKTA (and other) purification systems.
    • Utilize automation systems to ensure efficient and precise execution of experiments.
  • Collaborate with Process Development to strategize and perform critical experiments required for clinical development. Able to translate research assays to validated assays for the CMC process.
  • Train and mentor junior team members, providing guidance on experimental design, data analysis, and troubleshooting.
  • Maintain accurate and detailed records of experiments, protocols, and results in accordance with company standards and regulatory requirements.
  • Interpret and present scientific findings at research meetings. Provide scientific input and propose follow-up experiments.
  • Contribute to scientific publications, patents, and presentations to disseminate research findings both internally and externally.

Qualifications

  • B.S. or Ph.D in Structural Biology, Protein Biochemistry, or related fields with 10+ years of industrial experience.
  • Deep experience in designing and optimizing antibody production processes, including fermentation, cell culture, and purification.
  • Experience in using automation to generate high throughput (1000+) small-scale antibodies and related molecules.
  • Hands-on experience in utilizing a variety of analytical techniques like HPLC, Mass Spectrometry, BLI, SPR, ELISA, and CE-SDS for antibody characterization. 
  • Analyzing experimental data, drawing conclusions, and providing insights to inform process optimization
  • Working with cross-functional teams, including research, CMC, and clinical, to ensure alignment and successful product development. 
  • Maintaining detailed documentation of experimental designs, methods, and results in electronic lab notebooks. You are conscientious, detail-oriented, and organized.
  • Contributing to the preparation of technical reports and regulatory documentation. 
  • Training and mentoring junior team members in protein production and analytical techniques. 

Nice to have Skill(s)

  • Background in structural biology (X-ray crystallography or cryo-EM) is highly desirable. 
  • Experience using LIMS and Benchling systems.

 

Compensation

We offer a competitive compensation and benefits package, seeking to provide an open, flexible, and friendly work environment to empower employees and provide them with a platform to develop their long-term careers. A Summary of Benefits is available for all applicants. We offer a competitive package that includes base salary, bonus, and equity.  The base pay range for this position is expected to be $196,000 - $245,000 annually; however, the base pay offered will vary depending on the market, job-related knowledge, skills and capabilities, and experience.

Xaira Therapeutics an equal-opportunity employer. We believe that our strength is in our differences. Our goal to build a diverse and inclusive team began on day one, and it will never end.

TO ALL RECRUITMENT AGENCIES: Xaira Therapeutics does not accept agency resumes. Please do not forward resumes to our jobs alias or employees. Xaira Therapeutics is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes.

Create a Job Alert

Interested in building your career at Xaira Therapeutics? Get future opportunities sent straight to your email.

Apply for this job

*

indicates a required field

Resume/CV*

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Cover Letter

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Education

Select...
Select...
Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in Xaira Therapeutics’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

Select...
Select...
Race & Ethnicity Definitions

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability

Form CC-305
Page 1 of 1
OMB Control Number 1250-0005
Expires 04/30/2026

Why are you being asked to complete this form?

We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.

Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp.

How do you know if you have a disability?

A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)
  • Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS
  • Blind or low vision
  • Cancer (past or present)
  • Cardiovascular or heart disease
  • Celiac disease
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
  • Diabetes
  • Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders
  • Epilepsy or other seizure disorder
  • Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome
  • Intellectual or developmental disability
  • Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD
  • Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
  • Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports
  • Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS)
  • Neurodivergence, for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities
  • Partial or complete paralysis (any cause)
  • Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema
  • Short stature (dwarfism)
  • Traumatic brain injury
Select...

PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.